On Musical Terms
by NineteenTwentyone
Summary: Sirius Black is a musical prodigy at an academy for "gifted" and "troubled" musicians. When a new boy joins the school Sirius can't seem to get him off his mind. Muggle AU story centred around music.
1. Anacrusis

******Author's Note - I'm going to attempt to write a series (attempt being the operative word here). I take music as a subject at school and have played the piano for years, so music is a big part of my life. This idea came to me when I was listening my iPod one day and so I thought I'd try and write it down. Hope people like it *unashamedly hints at people to review*. **

**Summary - Sirius Black is a musical prodigy at an academy for "gifted" and "troubled" musicians. When a new boy joins the school Sirius can't seem to get him off his mind. **

**Disclaimer - I don't own Remus or Sirius (unfortunately) The characters are not mine. **

**On Musical Terms **

PROLOGUE

_**Anacrusis** – The notes which appear before the first strong beat of a musical phrase. It sounds as an upbeat._

"Sirius Black! Get back down here or you'll not eat for a week!" an enraged female voice shrieked up the stairs after a gangly teenager storming up them. Slamming his door behind him, Sirius locked it with the makeshift bolt he'd rigged up and walked over to his record collection, sifting quickly through the neatly stacked cases until he found something loud and angry, to reflect his mood. Sticking it on, he turned up the volume as loudly as it would go and lay down on his bed, letting the sound wash over him. His mouth curled into a smile as he heard someone banging loudly on his door. The sound was almost inaudible through the pounding of the bass and drums. Almost, but not quite.


	2. Consort

**A/N - Ok, so this chapter isn't the best thing I've ever written, but it'll hopefully get better as I go along.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter**

**I**

_**Consort** – A small group of instruments of the same family playing together, e.g. a consort of strings. The term usually applies to music from the Renaissance period._

So, here he was again, Sirius thought glumly, looking up at a pristine white sign which read "St Mungo's Music Academy" above the door of a converted castle, now music school. Sirius had been attending the Academy since the age of thirteen, after a particular incident had left his parents so enraged they had dumped him there with instructions to "Study how to be a proper musician, shape the fuck up, and not show his face until he learned how to comport himself in a manner befitting the heir to The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black". Of course Sirius had gone home for summer holidays, but both he and his family had been content to ignore each other as much as possible. Though the Academy taught promising musical talents, it was also a sort of correctional facility. "Troubled" children who showed musical aptitude were often transferred there for music therapy, ensuring a strict disciplinary system which was why Sirius' parents had chosen it for him. Sirius' family were famous in the musical world. All great musicians, the Black family could be traced back to the actual invention of the violin, cello, viola and double bass. Sirius' childhood had consisted of intense musical training, both theoretical and practical. He and his brother, Regulus, had been heralded as the new Mozarts, and had little time for playing or just being a child. Because of this Sirius had decided to rebel (like his favourite film characters or the lead guitarists in his favourite bands) and spent the majority of his early teens piercing his ears, buying a leather jacket and wearing a lot of black.

However this had only gotten him more time shut up in a practise room and a place at the Academy. As Sirius wandered the familiar halls, making his way up to the dormitory room he shared with three other boys, he thought back to his brother still at home under his parent's tyrannical rule. Sirius had always been the rebellious one. Angry at his parents' rigid training, their obsession with the family name and their insistence that he become a classical musician, Sirius went out of his way to cause them trouble. After years of pranks, insults and sabotages on prised family instruments, Sirius had found the prefect medium to enact his revenge - rock music.

* * *

><p>It was lunchtime before Sirius Black met up with his roommates, James and Peter. As they made their way down to the dining hall Sirius reacquainted himself with the building. Though he complained about being sent there, Sirius actually didn't mind the old castle. It wasn't particularly big, for a castle, but it had the requisite number of towers and turrets, the great hall and even a creepy dungeon. After going there for four years Sirius and his friends knew every inch of the school, and he prided himself on his understanding of, not only the place, but the people who lived there.<p>

It was funny, Sirius thought as he walked past groups of kids milling around the dining hall, how much the instrument you played affected your friendships (being at a music school tended to affect your social life, as well as academic). Students usually gravitated towards people from their own section of the orchestra, or other instrumental group if they were not in the orchestra. You could almost determine a person's character from the section they played in. Sirius himself was a string player, his instrument being the cello. String players tended to be sociable, loud, and outgoing. His best friend, James, played the violin, the lead instrument to the strings as the strings were to the rest of the orchestra. Many people resented the string players for this, and even Sirius had to admit as a section they did have a slightly superior view of themselves. However this didn't make them any less popular amongst the majority of the students.

Sirius' other close friend, Peter Pettigrew, was a brass player who played the trombone, something James and Sirius habitually teased him about. Being teenage boys they had endless jokes about "blowing" and "tromboners", although Sirius had to take the occasional comment about him and the "bit of hard wood between his legs". Brass players were characteristically a bit odd, not particularly academic, and often liked to tag along with the more popular strings, woodwind and singers. Sirius glanced distastefully at a couple of boys trying to free the hand of a third who had got it stuck in his own trumpet.

He James and Peter continued on walking to the other side of the hall, passing on the way a group of woodwind players

"Bunch of airy-fairy know-it-alls." Sirius muttered to himself. He had recently had a less than favourable encounter with a flautist who he'd had his eye on. She definitely seemed interested, and it had been going well, until he got to her dorm room and she'd insisted on "cleansing his aura before they began their everlasting soul connection." He'd gotten out of there pretty quickly after that.

The three friends walked to their usual corner of the dining hall -the one furthest from the teachers- past the percussion section

"They hardly even count as musicians" James said aside to Sirius, who dismissed the comment as he thought about the amazing drummers in The Who, Queen, and Pink Floyd. He knew James was just pissed off because the majority of the percussionists were on the cricket team, and James, who also played, was regularly set against them.

As they reached their table James caught sight of a flash of red hair, followed by an accompanying musical laugh. He jumped back up from the seat he'd just taken with a gleeful call of "EVANS!" as he bounded over to a girl at a nearby table, now regarding him with a disdainful look. Shaking his head Sirius watched his friend with amusement as he was rejected for the third time that day and irritation at his departure, which left him with only Peter for company. Sirius eyed the girl, Lily Evans, with distaste. Not only was she totally not his type, she was also a singer. Sirius couldn't stand singers, they were all so self-involved. Though a detached group who mostly interacted with themselves, they were held in high esteem by most other students.

Sirius turned his gaze from his best friend's comical attempts at gaining Lily's attention and was surveying the rest of the hall when something caught his eye. A solitary figure sat hunched over a table nearby. Back turned away, Sirius could only make out the slim build and light brown hair of the boy, who looked rather misplaced amongst the other students. With the academy being a boarding school people usually made friends quickly; the prospect of being so completely alone drove even the most timid of people to find a place for themselves. This boy however was entirely secluded.

At first Sirius couldn't quite work out what made him seem different, apart from his obvious segregation from his fellow students. Then he noticed the scruffy state of the strange boy's robes (the academy was very old, and had kept its archaic uniform) and the battered look of his brown school bag. Intrigued, Sirius unconsciously lent over the table, hoping to get a look at the unidentified boy's face.

"What are you looking at Sirius?" Peter asked, hoping to be let in on whatever plan or secret his bigger friend was clearly pondering.

"Nothing" Sirius muttered, mentally checking himself.

Though not a vain person, Sirius was aware he possessed above average looks, intelligence, charm, and knew the effect he had on most girls, and even some boys. Due to this, over the past few years Sirius had developed a reputation as somewhat of a player. It wasn't something he was necessarily proud of, however it did give him a better social standing, and pissed off his uptight, old fashioned parents. On this basis it wouldn't be good to be seen taking an obvious interest in an outcast who seemed to be content on ignoring others as they were ignoring him. Especially as that outcast was a guy.

And here was the root of the problem.

Two years ago, in his fifth year at school, Sirius had made a discovery. Two years ago Sirius had realised he was getting slightly closer to one of his male friends than he had known he wanted to be. Two years ago Sirius had realised that he might not be as straight as he had always assumed. You see, two years ago Sirius had realised he liked both girls _and _boys. After a drunken kiss one night when James and Peter had been out of the dorm, both Sirius and his other roommate, Evan had realised something about themselves they hadn't known before. They had continued "experimenting" until Evan had panicked. He had gone too deep into something he didn't understand, and Evan had spread the rumour that Sirius was gay round school. Sirius' parents had stepped in to prevent the Black name from being further smirched by their embarrassment of a son. The Evan had suddenly transferred schools, and Sirius had been careful to build a reputation for himself as a womaniser (or as James called him, a man slut).  
>However this experience had taught him a few valuable lessons. The first was never to trust anyone except himself, and maybe James as long as whatever he had to trust him with didn't involve Evans. The second was that, whilst times were changing and people were becoming more accepting, liking boys and girls was not going win him any popularity contests. And Sirius was ashamed to admit he liked the popularity which came with his name and his talent.<p>

No, it would not do to be caught staring at the new guy.


	3. Discord

**A/N - Thanks to the people who reviewed! It made me pathetically happy and spurred me to write more. So it is actually a fact that reviews = chapters.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own the characters or any similar circumstances/places. **

**II**

_**Discord** – A chord in which certain notes clash._

Sirius, James and Peter returned to their dorm after lunch, planning to spend the time until dinner catching up with each other. The first day of school never had any classes, as people arrived at different times, so it gave the students a chance to settle in.

"Wonder who our new roommate is" James said suddenly as they approached the dorm room.

"Maybe we won't have one" Peter replied "It was just us last year."

"I hope so. It's better with just us three." Sirius said as he pushed open the door to find a newly familiar turned back, and stopped so suddenly James and Peter collided with him. Falling forward a few steps, Sirius' arms windmilled frantically as he tried, unsuccessfully, to stop himself falling on top of the boy sitting on the bed closest to the door. With almost unnaturally quick reflexes the boy was off the bed and had turned round to glare at Sirius, now sprawled ungracefully on his bed.

"What the hell are you doing?" he spat, addressing himself more to the boy below him than the two in the doorway. Sirius looked up into vivid amber eyes, now glowing with anger, and he was captivated. The boy was striking, with tawny hair that seemed to sparkle with threads of gold, the same colour now tinting his eyes. He was beautiful, in an unconventional way. And Sirius hated him.

"Um, sorry," James spoke up from the doorway "I'm James, this is Peter, and that idiot is Sirius. We're your roommates." He paused expectantly, but upon finding no answer forthcoming was forced to ask "And you are?"

"Remus Lupin" the boy said, some of his anger disappearing as he looked at the two in the doorway, both giving him friendly smiles.

"We can show you round the school if you'd like" James offered as he stepped into the room.

"No," Remus replied turning away from the other, more sociable boy "I'd rather look around myself."

"What the hell's your problem Lupin?" Sirius demanded, finally picking himself up off Remus' bed. "James is trying to be nice and you're shoving it back in his face."

"I never asked him to be nice, did I?" Remus retorted, irritation returning as he looked at the dark haired boy in front of him.

"That just makes it worse" was Sirius' angry reply as he took a step closer to the new boy, antagonism easy to read in his stance.  
>Remus just looked at him incredulously. Though he hadn't been particularly friendly, he didn't feel his behaviour justified the obvious invitation for a fight the other boy was presenting.<p>

"What's your problem?" he asked.

"_Problem_? My problem is that I have to spend the rest of the year in a room with a guy who doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the words civility and manners. Didn't your parents teach you, or are they socially incompetent as well? " Sirius replied snappily. Remus strode over to Sirius until they were standing almost chest to chest, looking daggers at each other as anger emanated from both bodies.

Sirius was surprised to find the boy was a similar height to him. From his slight figure and solitary manner Sirius had automatically assumed Lupin would be shorter. This close to the boy, Sirius could see his hair also had red and blonde in it. Upon this discovery Sirius decided it was impossible to call Lupin's hair one colour. It was a mixture of many. Then he remembered where he was and what he was doing, and why musing over another boys hair colour wasn't a good thing.

"Hey, calm down guys." James voice cut in, before he turned to Sirius mouthing "_what the fuck are you up to_?"  
>"Let's try and wait till at least the third day before we have a domestic quarrel shall we?" he said, moving in between the two volatile roommates. Sirius took a step back as he realised how close he had gotten to the amber eyed boy, and how strongly they had reacted to each other - in a negative way of course.<p>

"I'm just defending your honour" Sirius replied, voice full of wounded dignity as he dramatically swooned in front of James. Thoroughly sick of the other boys' strange antics, Remus tried to get past Sirius and, upon finding this impossible, cleared his throat pointedly.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go to the library, and you're in the way" he stated coldly. "Though I appreciate James' gesture, I'd appreciate you all pissing off more." And with that he shouldered past Sirius, leaving the other three boys staring at his retreating back in surprised silence.

* * *

><p>"Wake up Sirius." Peter shook the dark haired boy "Hey, you're going to be late for class. Sirius!"<p>

"Just leave him Pete. You know he's a nightmare to wake up first week back. Anyway, first class is theory and transposing with McGonagall, and you know how I enjoy seeing her face go red when she's angry."

"Lupin isn't up either" Peter said, casting a glance at the sleeping boy in the bed next to the door.

"Leave him as well." James said, hopping on the spot as he tried to pull on a sock. "Yeah. We'll miss breakfast if we don't hurry up" Peter acquiesced, and, after a quick look in the mirror from James as he attempted to flatten his hair, both boys left the room.

Sirius woke up feeling like he'd hardly slept at all. His head hurt and he groaned as he rolled out of bed and stumbled to the adjoining bathroom. While he showered he though back to the events of the previous day and tried to justify his unreasonable response to the Lupin boy. After careful consideration he decided that it was because James was like a brother to him, and hearing the Lupin boy being so un-grateful after James' generous offer had sent him over the edge.

Still contemplating this thought, Sirius stepped out of the bathroom and made his way over to the chest containing his clothes. As he passed by Remus' bed he noticed it was still occupied and stood closer, deliberating whether to wake the sleeping boy up. From where he stood, Sirius could only just make out the definition of a high cheekbone, gently brushed by copper-brown hair. The rest of the boy was cocooned in his blankets, pulled high around his face. Sirius fought the sudden urge to brush Remus' hair off his face.

"Don't know what the hell is wrong with me." He murmured softly to himself, and walked away from the boy in the bed to finish getting ready. If he hurried he might still make it to first class before it finished.

* * *

><p>"I expect Mr. Black to turn up late to my class. You, however, Mr. Lupin I do not." Sirius turned round from where he stood at the front of the room, being lectured about timekeeping, as the tawny haired boy stumbled into the room. The mutinous expression on Remus' face as entered the classroom was quailing slightly under the fierce stare of Minerva McGonagall, the music theory and violin professor, as she reprimanded him.<p>

"As it is, perhaps I should make you boys each ensure each other's punctuality. That way, one of you might be on time." Remus' face took on such a horrified expression Sirius would usually have found it funny, had it not been for the personal insult it held. Did Lupin not want to spend time with him or something?

"I'm really sorry professor. I got lost."

"Ah yes, this is your first week here." McGonagall deliberated "Well then, that settles it. Mr Black, you have just earned the pleasure of escorting Mr Lupin round the school till he feels his knowledge sufficient enough to allow him to turn up to my class on time." Sirius started to protest before he was cut off.

"By glad that's your only punishment Mr Black. I could have you in here marking first year theory papers every evening for the next few weeks if you'd prefer." Sirius wisely decided to stay silent.

"I can't believe she's our section head!" Sirius complained loudly as he James and Peter left the classroom. "The woman's a she-demon from hell. How she manages to produce any sort of feeling on an instrument is beyond me."

"She does teach all the string players, as well as theory for all the years. It's no wonder she's a little uptight."

"That's not the point" Sirius began before he was interrupted by someone tugging gently, but insistently at his robes. Turning round he found himself face to face with the second last person he wanted to see at that moment, the first being McGonagall.

"You're supposed to show me round." Remus said bluntly, looking at Sirius with his strange amber eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" Sirius asked incredulously. "James offered to do that yesterday and you basically told him to piss off."  
>Remus' stared at him for a moment, expression changing from neutral, to guilty, to completely blank within the space of a few seconds.<p>

"You're right, sorry." He said quietly and, letting go of Sirius' sleeve, he began to walk away. Sirius turned to catch up to James and Peter, who'd conveniently left him alone with Lupin. He only got a few steps before he came to a halt.

"Wait!" Sirius called after Remus, not entirely sure why he was stopping the boy.

"Yes?"

"Do you actually want me to show you round?" Sirius asked. A brief look of fear flicked across Remus' face before being replaced by decisiveness.

"Yes please." He replied. Sirius just looked at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Sirius responded. "just wondering where the rude boy from yesterday who didn't want to be friends went."

"I could say the same of you." Remus said before frowning as if he'd suddenly remembered something. "And he's still here. I don't want to be your friend. You're just showing me round." Sirius stared disbelievingly as Remus brushed past him and strode down the corridor after James and Peter, not even bothering to turn round and check that the dark haired boy was following.


	4. Ostinato

**A/N - So here is chapter three. At the moment I'm thinking this will probably be around ten chapters, but I'm not entirely sure. I have no idea where I'm going! Aaagh.**

**Disclaimer- I disclaim. I disclaim everything for all chapters I write now and in the future! **

**III**

_**Ostinato** – A short musical pattern repeated many times. _

Sirius lay on his bed, feet propped up against the wall above his headboard and a pair of huge black headphones covering his ears. This was a system Sirius had used for many years. When his uptight family him became too much he would escape to his room and listen to his music.  
>Sirius closed his eyes and relaxed as he felt the subtle beat of the drums, the frantic jumping rhythm of the bass. He turned the volume up further, the vibrations resonating in his chest. His parents couldn't stand his love of rock music, which only encouraged him to listen to it more.<p>

The Blacks were an extremely old-fashioned family, and they viewed this new craze of rock and pop as an aberration which defiled music in general. Sirius had been told his entire life "Classical is the purest and only true form of music." This indoctrination had also included the evils of pop, rock and even the earlier jazz and swing music of his parent's generation.  
>When Sirius had first heard about the wild and liberated lifestyle led by musicians nowadays, instead of putting him off it had only drawn him further in. The idea of being a rebel had held a certain allure for the young boy who had watched, wide-eyed and entranced, a documentary on the changing genre of rock. It was at that moment the young Sirius had realised what he wanted to do in life. Not only would it give his parents a coronary, he would still get to play music but in a less repressive environment.<br>When Sirius had told his parents, aged eleven, that he wanted to be in a rock band when he grew up they had made a decision to send him to the Academy.

Sirius had decided to learn bass guitar as soon as he could get his hands on one. It seemed pretty similar to the cello. They both had four strings; you just hold a bass at a slightly different angle. He'd enjoyed the look on his parents face when he told them this. He'd enjoyed the look even more when he told them he thought he might quit cello to make room for his new hobby.

Yet, as much as Sirius liked rock music (and as much as he denied enjoying classical) he did love the cello. Whenever he played the instrument it felt as if everything in his world was right. He forgot the things which bothered him; he forgot the things which didn't. He just sat and _played. _And nothing else really mattered anymore, because he couldn't think about anything except the music, so nothing else existed but the music. It was ironic that the thing which caused so many of his restrictions at home was also the only thing which made being there bearable.

It is difficult to explain to people who didn't play an instrument what music could do to you. Some people can appreciate the beauty of a song, be moved by it, and love it. However there is nothing that can compare to playing it yourself. You put your own feelings and experiences into each performance as you interpret the composer's own thoughts and feelings on the piece. It is always easy to tell the difference between a musician who is technically brilliant, and one who is emotionally brilliant.

He contemplated these complicated thoughts as he lay there, letting the wonderful combination of bass, guitar, drums and angry vocals (singing with a similar defiance to that which Sirius felt all the time) wash over him. However these thoughts were not long in his head before his mind unwillingly wandered, as it had been doing a lot of late, to Remus Lupin.

He had dutifully shown Remus to his classes for the whole of the first week. They hadn't talked much, not that either of them had particularly tried. Every time they had a discussion they just seemed to fight. Still, on the occasions where Sirius had tried to make conversation the other boy had kept himself strangely distant, only answering in monosyllables and never meeting Sirius' eye. Sirius found this extremely odd, especially given their heated first encounter. It also irritated him beyond reasonable explanation. However he had just come to accept it as yet another of those things he would never know about Remus Lupin. On the other hand, this didn't mean that he couldn't try to find out.

* * *

><p>"Remus!" Sirius called as he loped down the corridor after the boy in question.<p>

"What do you want?" Remus asked with a long suffering sigh. This was the fourth time Sirius had accosted him on the way to or from a class today, and on each occasion his reason became more and more ridiculous.

"Hey Remus! Do you have a spare wand I can borrow?" Sirius asked with a grin as he swiped dark hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head.

"Wand?" Remus echoed in confusion

"He means a conductor's stick, a baton, the thing we're all supposed to remember for conducting with Flitwick which Sirius manages to forget every single lesson. Last time he had to use a twig he found outside." James clarified as he walked down the corridor at a more sedate pace than that of his friend's.

"Sirius likes to call it a wand." Peter explained moving from behind James to stand next to Remus. "We think he was dropped on his head as a baby."

"Hey!" Sirius cried, leaping over to Peter and smacking him round the head "I was _not _dropped on my head as a baby." he winked at Remus "Insanity just runs in my family." Remus rolled his eyes and started walking to class, ignoring the three boys behind him, in particular the owner of the grey eyes now watching him leave reproachfully.

* * *

><p>Sirius scowled at the figure hunched over a desk. James, noticing his gaze, poked him in the arm<p>

"Leave the guy alone." He said "Just because he doesn't want to be friends with you doesn't mean you have to sulk this much. I get that you're not used to rejection, but you're just going to have to face it – he doesn't like us."

"But you're the one who told me to be nice to him!" Sirius retorted angrily "So that's what I'm doing, but it doesn't seem to be working. He's never initiated a conversation and leaves every time we try to talk to him!" here he fixed his gaze on James, an unusually earnest look set in his eyes.  
>"We don't know anything about him. Aren't you curious? He just turned up in the <em>last year of school! <em>The last year of a music school. A music school which generally only takes students in from first year onwards!_"_

"Maybe he has a good reason." Peter chimed in just as James said "Maybe it's none of our business."

"We don't even know what instrument he plays!" Sirius exclaimed. "He's come to a music school and we've never seen him play anything. He would have been put in the orchestra if he played one of those instruments. I've never seen him anywhere near the practice rooms either. He just goes to class, hangs out in the library and sits in our room."

"You've certainly been watching him closely" James said, looking pointedly at him. Sirius flushed and turned away. Perhaps he should have been less obvious.

"Never mind" he muttered "I'll find it out myself."

But try as he might, Sirius could gather no more information on Remus other than thsee three points on the short list hidden under his mattress.

1. Unlike every other student at the Academy, he had no instrumental instruction with a teacher (this was all dogging Remus' every footstep could tell him)

2. His birthday was the 10th of March (this was all Remus' file could tell him)

3. He had a bizarre obsession with mangos. Sirius had once seen the boy eat three whole mangos and look around mournfully when he realised there were no more. Needless to say Peter had been impressed

"It was like he _inhaled _them!" he had exclaimed for a whole week after. "I thought I had seen it all when we saw him eating chocolate, but this was on a whole new level."

Unfortunately these discoveries helped little in Sirius' endeavour to understand the mystery that was Remus Lupin.

He began following the tawny haired boy between classes, hoping his activities would shed some light on his character. It was not _stalking, _Sirius told himself as he watched Lupin enter music history with professor Binns - a class Sirius often skipped to do extra "practice" on his cello. This new hobby continued for about a week before Remus finally snapped and cornered him one day in an empty corridor.

"I'm not entirely sure what you're doing Black," he had snarled, grabbing hold of the front of Sirius' robes and pulling Sirius' face close to his "but I'd appreciate it if you would stop whatever game you're playing. I don't want to be part of it and to be frank it's just pissing me off." He had then pushed Sirius in the direction of the nearest wall and stalked off. Sirius had been surprised at the level of animosity, and strength, the other boy had shown. He had respected Remus' personal boundaries since.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2 - The next chapter will have a bit more insight into Remus' perspective. So far he's just been a grumpy, slightly violent, self-imposed social reject who seems to flounce off at the end of every chapter. This will change I swear!  
><strong>**Anyone like to guess what instrument Remus plays?  
><strong>**I'm getting lots of alerts and favourites which are making me very happy. So obviously people like the story, and I would be even happier if they could tell me in a review.**


	5. Pizzicato

**A/N - In response to the review which suggests Remus might play the tuba I have to ask is there any instrument less romantic than a tuba? (Any tuba players reading this please don't kill me! The tuba is a lovely instrument but you have to admit it isn't the tenderest one out there) …maybe a gazoo.  
>Well, the answer to the question lies just below you. Read on and feel stupid for not realising what it was beforehand.<strong>

**IV**

_**Pizzicato** – (Abbreviation pizz.) An instruction given to string players to pluck the strings instead of using the bow. _

Remus refused to play the piano. In his lessons he simply sat, glaring at the offending instrument with his stationary hands resting on his lap. He hated the contrasting black and white keys, the smooth lines of the frame, but mostly he hated that he wanted to play it. The teachers were at a loss for what to do. They had tried being nice, pleading with him, shouting at him, ordering him to play, but Remus still refused. After a month of this they had decided to leave him alone. No-one asked him _why _he wouldn't play.  
>And so now, Remus spent the ten hours a week dedicated to instrumental practice sitting in the enclosed room, with the piano, and the silence, and the memories.<p>

"Shit" Remus exclaimed, jumping up from the seat, knocking it over with the force of his ascent. Blindly he paced around in circles, feeling confined in the stuffy space. There were no windows in the practice rooms, which were all situated in the basement. It made Remus, already edgy from the proximity to the piano, even tenser. With a look of both longing and loathing, Remus stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. **[and there I was promising he would stop storming out of rooms and slamming doors]  
><strong>

Remus sped down the narrow corridor, passing other doors of practice rooms, the snatches of music which reached his ears only fuelling his anger. Just as he turned the corner, aiming for the stairs leading out into the open, Remus collided with someone moving swiftly in the opposite direction.

"Shit! Mr Darcy!" a male voice exclaimed as he picked himself up from the ground. Remus remained on the floor where the collision had flung him, and slowly looked up at the lean figure of Sirius Black, currently inspecting his cello for any damage.

"You called your cello Mr Darcy?" Remus asked incredulously, before he remembered he shouldn't talk to the young man who was now regarding him with a cold grey gaze.

"Oh, it's you Lupin. Yes. I named him Mr Darcy. So what? Haven't you named your instrument?" Sirius' voice became less hostile as his curiosity got the better of him. "Or do you not have one, because I've never seen you take one into a practice room. Are you a singer?" Sirius crouched on the floor beside Remus as his enquiries became more eager.

Remus was thoroughly sick of the other boy's questions, his attempts to talk to him, but mostly the fact that Remus wanted to talk to him.

"It's none of your business Black." he sighed, picking himself up off the floor in an attempt to gain some height advantage. Having Sirius so close was making him nervous.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked.

"Where does it look like? Out of here." Remus shifted right to get past Sirius just as the other boy moved to his left. Undeterred, Remus shifted to his own left only to find Sirius mirroring his step. His eyes caught the other boy's awkwardly.

"Uh, I'll just go this-" Remus began, moving forward.

"Yeah, and I'll go-" Sirius started, also moving forward until they both collided with each other again, this time more gently than the last.

"Oh for the love of-" Remus grabbed Sirius shoulders and manoeuvred past the dark haired boy, still holding his cello.

"There."

"Right." Sirius said uncomfortably "I'll just be going then."

"Yeah." Remus replied, internally groaning at the awkwardness of the situation. "See you in class."

* * *

><p>"I think Remus is a singer" Sirius mused, lying in his usual position, legs up against the wall, body spread out on the bed with his head lolling over the side.<p>

"I really don't care" James replied, as he stuck a hand-cut, coloured heart onto a disgustingly pink heart shaped card - his newest ploy to get Lily Evans on a date.

"I don't think he is." Peter said, looking up from his homework. "He would have to go to the group singing classes, and we've never seen him there. We've looked often enough." Peter shot a significant look at James "_Someone_ likes to stalk a certain singer to check her friends are, as he puts it, 'worthy of sharing personal space with my Lily flower, light of my life, sovereign of my heart, goddess, nymph, divine…' to be honest I stopped listening when he started quoting Shakespeare."

"I still think he's a singer" Sirius stated obstinately.

"Why do you care so much?" James asked, looking up from a particularly revolting heart which he was gluing a picture of his face to. "We're not friends with him. He can be a bit of a dick sometimes. He doesn't even seem to _want _us to be friends with him, but you're always talking about him"

"I'm trying a new tactic." Sirius replied "He does live with us, so we should at least be civil. All we've done is fight with him."

"All _you've_ done is fight with him" James retorted.

"We didn't fight one time!" Sirius insisted.

"Well I think it's a good idea." Peter told Sirius, smiling at the wounded look on James' face at his betrayal. "It's unusually mature for you Sirius. I'm impressed. But how about instead of annoying the guy all the time, you try having a regular conversation where you don't cock up and act like a massive twat?"

"You're the level-headed friend I never had." Sirius replied gravely, patting Peter on the shoulder.

* * *

><p>Remus was procrastinating. He was postponing, putting off, purposefully avoiding another word beginning with P. In fact two words beginning with P. Actually make that three – practice, piano, and that prat who insisted on making his life difficult.<br>Truth be told it was precisely this third P which had driven Remus to where he was – sitting on a stone bench in an discarded greenhouse on a cold and windy autumn afternoon with nothing but a thin coat to stave off the chill. Remus had found that when in conventional places such as the library or the occasional empty classroom, Sirius had a habit of locating him and trying to make conversation. This was why Remus had been forced to find this current spot. Unfortunately, as most of the glass was gone from the walls and ceiling, the icy wind still managed to find Remus. The remnants of shattered glass strewn across the floor twinkled in the autumn sun like thousands of crystallised teardrops. Remus stared at them broodingly as he fought to keep his thoughts away from a certain grey eyed roommate of his.

Remus had tried to drive him off; he had been unfriendly, rude, and at times violent. James and Peter seemed to get the idea, they hadn't talked to him at all except in a quick "could you pass the butter?" or "can I use some of your toothpaste?"  
>But nothing Remus did seemed to get through to the other boy, who still approached him all the time, mostly to annoy or provoke a reaction out of him.<br>Remus shivered as a gust of cold air passed by. There appeared to be no way to dissuade the determined, grey eyed boy, and Remus was starting to worry that he didn't want to.

Just as he was pondering this last thought, the object of his mental musings walked round the corner, a predatory grin spreading across his face when he spotted Remus.

"Hello." He beamed merrily, plonking himself down on Remus' bench without invitation. "Lovely afternoon is it not?"

"It was a second ago." Remus replied callously, avoiding eye contact with the other boy. "And it's too cold."

"Nonsense!" the entity of his evasion stated. "It's just a little wind. One might argue it is healthy, invigorating even." Sirius turned to regard his companion and finally noticed the slight shudders that passed through his body at each flurry of wind.

"God, you really are cold." He said, surprised. "What are you doing sitting outside if you're freezing?"

"Avoiding you." Remus replied candidly, the low level of his body temperature making his answer sharper than he had intended.  
>A brief look of hurt flickered across Sirius' face before he straightened his features and said in a neutral voice "If I stay here you can go inside then."<p>

Remus gave a startled laugh, assuming the other boy was joking, but Sirius' face was completely serious.

"Well that would sort out the problem this time," he said nastily "but what about the next time I want to be alone and you come looking for me."

"You know Remus, I'm just trying to be social. We got off on the wrong foot-"

"And who's fault was that I wonder." Remus muttered.

"but that's why I'm trying to fix it. I'm not saying we have to be friends, I just think we should stop arguing." Remus looked and the boy in front of him, forthright grey eyes staring into his own guarded amber ones.

"Ok." He finally agreed. "I'm sorry. I've been a bit of a prick haven't I?" he smiled ruefully.

"Just a bit." Sirius grinned, before he asked apprehensively. "Truce?"

"Truce." Remus repeated, unable to hide his smile.

* * *

><p>"I think he's warming up to me." Sirius commented to James and Peter in class the next day.<p>

"I think you're imagining it." James replied dejectedly as he stared at a certain red-head sitting two desks away. She hadn't liked the card.

"Hey James" Peter tried to distract his attention from Lily before he threw himself out of the window in a fit of passion (James had been reading old romance novels in the hopes of understanding the female mind better, and they had given him bad ideas) "I have a new cellist joke."

"Really?" James perked up, always glad for the opportunity to make fun of Sirius "Do tell."

"Why do cellists stand for long periods outside people's houses?"

"I don't know."

"They can't find the key and they don't know when to come in."

"Oh ha ha ha." Sirius said sarcastically whilst attempting to ping a rubber band in James' face to wipe the irritating laughter off it.

"I heard a good one the other day" James stated, narrowly avoiding the projected missile with a spectacular chair tilt. "What do a weatherman and a cello player have in common?"

"I don't know" Peter answered dutifully, rubbing his nose where the elastic band meant for James had hit him.

"They're both offensive and inaccurate."

"You know these jokes can all be applied to violin players as well." Sirius drawled.

"Yes, but no-one would want to. Everyone loves us." James replied.

"_I_ hate you."

"Love you too babe."

"Well there's something I did not anticipate, nor wish, to hear this early in the morning." Professor McGonagall stated pleasantly as she entered the classroom and came up behind the desks of the three friends. "I think it would perhaps be wise to separate you two love birds so you don't cause each other too much distraction."

"Do not listen to him my dear professor!" Sirius exclaimed, turning his body dramatically, as only Sirius could, to face McGonagall.  
>"Though he may love me, his feelings are, alas, unrequited. There is only one person who holds my heart, and she is currently contemplating how best to give me detention." Here Sirius gave his teacher a wide smile followed by a wink. "But I know it is just a ploy to hide her burgeoning love for me." A delicate snort came from the desk to Sirius' right, and he turned in surprise to see Remus hiding a smile behind his hand as he stared determinedly at the page of the book in front of him.<p>

"Perhaps I should send you to the hospital wing instead of detention Mr Black. Have you hit your head recently? Because you seem to be suffering from some grave delusions." McGonagall stalked to the front of the classroom barking, "Detention, Friday night Mr Black." as she went.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2 – When I first came up with the idea for this story I almost had Remus and Sirius playing the other's instrument. Sometimes I wish I had done, but then I couldn't make cello jokes about Sirius. Aaagh! Now I can't get the idea of Sirius playing the piano out of my head. Maybe I should write a different story where Sirius plays the piano?**

**I feel I should apologise to anyone reading this who has no idea about music at all if you're don't get the jokes. I'm afraid there will be more later.**


	6. Bridge

**A/N - The prologue is confusing me. This is actually chapter five, but is also six because of the prologue. If it is confusing anyone else I apologise.  
>I've reached 1,155 hits on this story! I can't believe it. However I only have 10 reviews. If I could do maths I would tell you the percentage of people who review, but as maths is, in my opinion, the work of the devil and I am not very good at it, I can only say that 10 is a lot less than 1,155.<br>****Come on people! Give me some love here (and you'll get it back in the form of Remus and Sirius)  
><strong>**Thank you to those who have reviewed! They're what keep me going when I can't be bothered writing anymore.**

**V**

_**Bridge** – A link between two themes. In sonata form the bridge or transition links the first subject-group to the second subject-group and also modulates to the key of the second subject. _

It was Friday evening in mid-October, and the torrential rain outside ruined all the boys' plans. Sighing at the sombre mood of his roommates and the oppressive silence in the room, Sirius jumped of his bed and stalked over to the record player. Selecting a record, he turned the volume up as far as it could go and gave a satisfied smile as the other three boys jumped at the first lines of "**_Hey, hey mama said the way you move, gonna make you sweat gonna make you groove_**" gave way to a loud irregular base line.

"Oh God Sirius, not _again_!" James grumbled, shooting the record player and Sirius, now dancing badly, equally dirty looks.

"What is_ that_?" a voice spoke up from the corner bed. Sirius, James and Peter all turned their heads to look in surprise at the tawny haired boy. Remus didn't usually talk to more than one person at a time, and the fact that he had actually initiated a conversation came as a surprise. Sirius was the first to recover, tipping his head to the side as he enquired

"What is what?"

"This music? This song? What's it called."

"The song is called Black Dog," Sirius replied animatedly "it's by Led Zeppelin, it's one of my favourite songs ever. Amazing example of rock music at its finest. Listen to that bass line – absolute genius. And the guitar, and the drums… and, oh God, his _voice, _it's s-" Sirius was cut off as James threw a pillow at his face.

"Stop getting off on a song in front of me man, it's creepy." James laughed at Sirius' outraged expression, and was about to engage him in a violent wrestling match on the floor when a soft voice interrupted.

"Who's Led Zeppelin?" Remus asked "and what's rock music?" Sirius stared at him in horror, his mouth hanging wide open.

"What's _rock music?_" he spluttered, a tone of disbelief and outrage tinting his voice. Remus' face coloured and he looked away, embarrassed.

"I've only ever heard classical and jazz." he muttered, not meeting the grey eyed boy's incredulous gaze.

"But rock music is _awesome._" Sirius stated, diving into his record collection and pulling out a handful of records, intent on educating Remus about the finer points of rock.

"Don't get Sirius started on this." James warned Remus, an indulgent smile playing across his lips. "He'll talk for hours if you let him. To Sirius rock music is an art…no, a way of life…no, a _faith._"

"And I'm about to convert you." Sirius gave a wide, slightly predatory smile as he sat down at the end of Remus' bed and let the pile of records spill out between them.

* * *

><p>"Hey Peter, did you hear about the cellist who played in tune?" James asked as the boys walked into Care of Musical Instruments with Professor Kettleburn.<p>

"No." Peter replied.

"Neither did I."

"Hey Peter, what's the difference between a violinist and a dog?" Sirius called over the top of Peter's head, glaring at James.

"I don't know" Peter sighed

"A dog knows when to stop scratching."

"What are they doing?" Remus asked a rather surprised Peter, as he sat next to the three friends. Remus had never spoken to Peter directly before.

"This is just their usual weekly musician joke battle. They basically rip each other's instruments apart…"

"How is lightning like a cellist's fingers? – Neither one strikes in the same place twice."

"then fight…"

"How many violinists does it take to change a light bulb? – None, they can't get up that high."

"then make up and turn on me…"

"How can you tell which kid on a playground is the child of a trombonist?"

"I don't know James, how can you tell?"

"Well Sirius, he doesn't know how to use the slide, and he can't swing."

"You used that one last week James." Peter called.

"What do trombonists use for birth control? – Their personalities."

"HEY, Sirius! That one was uncalled for." Peter cried indignantly.

"But true mate."

"Where do string players perform best? – in traffic." A low voice muttered, effectively stopping the war Sirius James and Peter were about to enter into. Peter looked at Remus and let out a startled laugh. Sirius said

"Well, as I don't know what you play I'll just make one up in retaliation." He grinned at Remus who now looked like he wished he had never spoken. "What's the difference between a triangle player and a vacuum cleaner?" Sirius looked expectantly at Remus, who stared stubbornly back for a few seconds before giving in.

"I don't know but I'm insulted you think I play the triangle."

"You have to plug one of them in before it sucks." Sirius cackled with glee. Remus shook his head slowly

"I have to say I'm disappointed. I've heard that one at least twice."

"You think you can do better?" Sirius challenged. Remus gave a slow smile, a glint of mischief in his eyes that the other boys had never seen before.

"Of course I can. I'll give you each one. Perhaps we'll give the violin jokes a break and I'll insult James in another way."

"Take your best shot." James laughed.

"What's the difference between an opera singer and a pit-bull?"

"I don't know."

"Lipstick."

Sirius howled with laughter, managing to croak out "Oh God, it's _so _true! It's like he's describing Evans! She's certainly violent enough."

"For Peter," Remus continued "what is a gentleman?"

"I don't know." Peter asked against his better judgement.

"Someone who knows how to play the trombone but doesn't." This time James joined Sirius in laughing.

"And now a special one for Sirius." Remus declared. "How does a cellist's brain cell die?"

"I don't know. How does a cellist's brain cell die?" James and Peter chorused.

"Alone." Remus gave a satisfied smirk and the resulting laughter produced by the boys got them all detention for not paying attention in class and generally having fun. Sirius knew there was a reason he hated professor Slughorn, even if Sirius was good at composing.

All four boys left the class together, making their way downstairs to lunch.

As they reached the corridor entering into the main hall high pitched giggles were punctuated by a screech of "Siri!"  
>Remus felt himself roughly pushed to the side along with Peter as a group of four or five girls launched themselves at Sirius, who didn't look particularly upset about the situation.<p>

"Where have you _been _Siri?" a particularly pretty and _well-endowed _brunette pouted at the silver eyed boy. Remus felt mildly irritated. It was probably because the girls had pushed him.

"Yeah, we haven't seen you or James around the sports pitch recently." A petit blonde shot what Remus could only presume was supposed to be a sultry look in James' direction.

"Hmm, we've been busy, and practice has been cancelled a lot because of the weather." Sirius explained, seemingly oblivious to the girls clinging onto his robes as the group walked towards the Great Hall. Remus' irritation increased.

"Oh look, there's Evans." James commented in relief and quickly extracted himself from the limpet-like grip of the slim blonde girl. Peter took one look at the gaggle of girls surrounding his other friend and sighed

"I'm going after James," he told Remus "there's no point being around Sirius when he's surrounded by his fan club. You coming?"  
>Remus' feeling of pleasure at being asked to join Peter and James was marred slightly by his inexplicable annoyance at the group of girls; however as he followed Peter over to where an irate Lily was beating James over the head with his own violin case he couldn't stop a small smile escaping. Perhaps talking to his roommates wasn't such a bad thing. It hadn't exactly done him any harm.<br>_Yet_, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – So, I was wondering what people thought of the instruments the characters play (a reminder if you need it, Sirius – cello, Remus – piano, James – violin, Peter – trombone, Lily – singer. Snape is also a singer, though I haven't mentioned him, but it's funny to imagine Snape singing) do you think they're good, or would you imagine them playing something completely different? Also, are there any ideas in particular you would love to happen in the story? I'd love to hear what you'd like to happen, and see if any match up with my plans.**


	7. Interrupted Cadence

**A/N - Thanks for all the reviews I've been getting. ****It's good to know the story is going, at least a little bit, in the right direction. ****Also thanks to _artsybelle22, _for doing the maths for me, and working out that only 0.95% of people who had viewed my story reviewed. I hope this guilt trips you all into telling me what you think of it.  
><strong>**It is my 18th birthday today, and I've had such a wonderful time I thought I should give something back to everyone, so here is a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. **

**VI**

_**Interrupted cadence** – A cadence is formed by two chords at the end of a phrase. An interrupted cadence is usually formed by the chords V–VI. This is known also as the surprise cadence_

Sirius sat in Performing trying to tune out the sounds of the rest of the class' instruments and concentrate only on the low vibrato of his cello. Performing was one of his favourite classes at school. It concentrated on the practical side of music, got people to work as a group of musicians and consolidated what students practiced with their section tutors and by themselves.  
>Sirius, who had reached a particularly emotional part in the piece, was enjoying vigorously swaying his body and bopping his head in show of such narcissistic self-involvement it could only be rivalled by that of a violin player. In fact, as he glanced across to the other side of the classroom, he saw James on one knee, violin moving to and fro and he played a particularly heart wrenching melody to a less than impressed Lily Evans. Well, she acted less than impressed, but Sirius had a feeling she was caving.<p>

As Sirius reached the height of the piece, he dramatically flicked his dark hair out of his eyes and saw Remus approaching him, a look of amusement on his face.

"What are you doing Sirius?" he asked, taking the empty seat next to the cellist (people usually stayed well back from Sirius when he played the cello. He had a tendency of flailing his bow around and it often hit people)

"What do you mean what am I doing?" Sirius said as he stopped playing and rested the bow on his knees. "I was quite obviously playing."

"Do you always play so…enthusiastically?" Remus enquired, a small smile tugging the corners of his lips.

"Are you making fun of me?" Sirius asked, a similar smile gracing his own face.

"Not at all." Remus replied. "I was merely wondering if you're always so energetic when you play. You must get tired."

"Oh that, that wasn't me playing seriously." Sirius said, his smile widening. "I never play seriously in class."

"Why?" Remus enquired, curious despite himself.

Sirius paused, before fixing Remus with a suddenly sober expression and replied "I feel that music - real music - and real performances are very personal. It's not something you should just give to anyone, and certainly not something you should go parading round just to show off how good you are at playing. It's something you should give to people to trust, people you like." He grinned suddenly, startling Remus with the sudden change of mood "or of course if you're getting paid a lot, isn't that right Mr Darcy?" the last was directed at his cello, which Sirius gazed at lovingly.

"I still can't believe that you named your instrument Mr Darcy of all things." Remus exclaimed. "Why would you name it after a hero in a romance novel?

"Because I love having Mr Darcy in between my legs" he smirked at Remus' expression whilst patting the instrument fondly.  
>"And then I get to say that to James and watch as he turns a rather fetching shade of mauve."<p>

"Most people wouldn't joke about that kind of thing. It could give the wrong impression." Remus stated, wondering if Sirius realised what could be understood from what he had just said.

"Maybe it's not the wrong impression." Sirius said, his eyes unwavering as they stared deep into Remus' own.  
>"And maybe I don't care anymore."<p>

"You're a very strange person, did you know that?" Remus commented, hoping to ease the tension which had sprung up between the two boys as soon as Sirius had begun his staring.

"Honey, when you have a family like mine it's hard not to be."

"Did you just call me _honey_?" Remus gaped disbelievingly.

"What's wrong with that?" Sirius grinned. "I call James pet names all the time." Sirius spun round in his chair and shouted over his shoulder "Hey Pumpkin, are you remembering it's Bonfire Night today?

"Of course I am." James called back distractedly, Lily had just agreed to go with him to that very event.

"See." Sirius flashed Remus a smile. "I do it to everyone." _Lies, _he thought to himself.

"What was that about bonfire night?"

* * *

><p>Bonfire night was an event traditionally celebrated by St Mungo's Music Academy. There was eating, performances round the bonfire, and, at the end of the night, paper lanterns were thrown on the pyre.<p>

"Remus, your lantern is amazing!" James exclaimed, staring at the perfect replica of a wolf in lantern form.

"Not sure what yours is though, Pete."

"It was supposed to be a musical note." Peter said mournfully.

"It's alright," Remus told him comfortingly, "it's only going to be burned anyway." Remus surveyed the goings on around him with wide eyes, completely enthralled. "I've always wanted to do something for Guy Fawkes night."

"For whaty what night?" Sirius asked.

"Guy Fawkes." Remus cried. "Bonfire night is held because of him? He was part of the Gunpowder Plot?" Remus took in the three equally blank looks on the other boy's faces and sighed.

"On the 5th of November 1605 a small group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, planned to assassinate the Protestant King James and replace him with his daughter, third in the line of succession, Princess Elizabeth. Guy Fawkes was part of this group, and was in charge of the gunpowder they were going to use to blow up the House of Lords; however he was caught and executed."

"It is the failure of this which has been commemorated in England ever since. Guy Fawkes has become synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, and it is traditional to burn an effigy of him on a bonfire, followed by fireworks." Remus took in a deep breath as he finished speaking.

"Wow." Said Peter simply

"How the hell do you know all that?" Sirius asked, a look of astonishment spread across his face.

"I read." Remus stated simply. "But I still can't believe you've never heard of him. Don't you know the rhyme?"

"No, but I'm sure you can tell us." James smiled.

Remus dutifully did so.

"_Remember, remember the 5__th__ of November_

_Gunpowder treason and plot_

_I see no reason why gunpowder, treason_

_Should ever be forgot."_

"The full version is longer but I won't bother telling you it all because you'll just forget."

"A bookworm" Sirius moaned "how could I let myself associate with a bookworm?"

"Looks like they're about to start." James said, nudging Sirius, mid-performance, in the ribs.

The boys had an amazing night. James wandered off to find Lily, Peter was performing in a brass band, and so Sirius and Remus ended up spending the majority of the evening together. After the food and performances were over, everyone crowded round the bonfire.  
>The call was given and the dozens of paper shapes were thrown in the air, falling slowly down to land on the fire. Flames licked greedily up the sides of the lanterns, consuming the paper almost instantly and leaving only the skeletons of the wicker frames as proof of their existence. Remus stared wide eyed as the smoke swirled around the students, the wind whipping it in every direction. A heat haze was visible above the bonfire, blurring the faces of those on the other side like an imitation of a Monet painting.<p>

Remus turned to look for the other boys but could see only thick white smog, no sign of his friends.  
>He stiffened for a second, that un-conscious thought of the other boys being his friends freezing his entire body as realisation of what he had done crashed over him.<br>But surely there was nothing wrong with being _friendly_? It hadn't distracted him so far. And it wasn't as if he was even practicing. If he refused to follow that instruction, why should he follow the other, less important one? Really, Remus couldn't understand why he hadn't realised it before.  
>Remus tried to ignore the sudden feeling of nausea which overcame him at the thought of what would happen if <em>he <em>found out Remus was disobeying either of his orders.

"Remus." a voice called out and, turning in relief, he saw Sirius standing right next to him.

"Stay with me, I've lost the others." Sirius said with a smile. "The leaves were pretty wet after all that rain, so the smoke's worse than usual. We should try to find them." Remus grabbed onto the back of his jacket, much to the dark haired boy's surprise.

"Lead the way." He said with a slight smile. Sirius suddenly felt rather warm. Perhaps it was due to the proximity of the bonfire. Yes, that must be it.

* * *

><p>That night Sirius woke up to the sound of choked coughs and violent retching coming from the bathroom. Slipping out of the warmth of his bed, Sirius padded silently across the wooden floor and gently pushed open the door. Remus was leant over the bathroom sink, his tawny hair darkened from water, now dripping down his face.<p>

"Remus?" Sirius called softly. The other boy spun round from the sink, a look of shock and fear etched onto his face. There was a loud crash as Remus' hand accidentally knocked over the various toothbrushes and the like in his haste to see who was behind him.

"Shit." He swore softly, bending down to retrieve the fallen items.

"Here, I'll help." Sirius offered, crouching down next to the other boy.

"What's wrong?" he asked finally as Remus straightened his toothbrush for the third time.

"Nothing," he gave Sirius a bright smile "just feeling a little sick is all."

"Really? Are you always that jumpy when feeling sick?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a step towards Remus.

"You just startled me." Remus replied, retreating back in the wake of Sirius' advance until his lower back hit the cold circle of the sink.

"Tell me what's wrong." Sirius commanded.

"Nothing." Remus repeated.

"It's clearly not nothing if you're up at God knows what time of the morning being sick or having a panic attack, or whatever that just there was." Sirius stood right in front of Remus, cutting off his exits. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"  
>Remus gave a cynical smile, and replied "I'd prefer not to say, even if worrying about it makes me like this." Remus brushed past Sirius as he made his way back to his bed. "It's easier this way."<p>

He stopped just before the bed and turned towards the boy still standing in the door. Sirius lost himself in the amber eyes which seemed much too large for Remus' face, pale in the green-tinged light from the bathroom.

"But thanks for asking." He murmured so softly Sirius was unsure if he had actually heard it, or if it had been his imagination.

Neither boy got much sleep that night. Each was too lost in their own, complicated thoughts.


	8. Homophony

**A/N – As I now have two series going I might be slower to upload new chapters on this. I was thinking I might try and finish my second series _Through the Mist *_shamelessly promotes own work* first as it is going to be a lot shorter, which leaves more time for this.  
>I was originally planning on only focusing on a few months of Sirius and Remus' last year in this story, but recently I've been toying with the idea of making the story longer and covering the whole year. <strong>

**VII**

_**Homophony** – Where all the parts move together rhythmically. Texture where you hear melody with accompaniment._

"Hey Remus, can you help me with something?"  
>Remus looked up from where he sat on his bed, book in hand and an expression of slight confusion on his face.<p>

"What can I possible help you with?" he asked.

"You know how we're supposed to get someone to pretend to be an examiner for us, and we're to play for them? Well Pete and James aren't here, so you'll have to do."

"A word of advice" Remus replied sarcastically, the effect ruined slightly by the smile tugging at the corner of his lips "when asking for someone's help, you're generally more likely to get it if your request has a bit of enthusiasm."

"Come on Remus," Sirius pleaded, widening his eyes in his best puppy-dog expression "pleeease heeeelp meeeee!"

"I'm reading."

"Please Remus? I'll do anything you want!" Sirius increased the puppy-dog eyes up to maximum level. "I need _someone _to hear me. McGonagall is the examiner, and she's a hard woman to entertain."

"Oh for the love of all that's holy!" Remus exclaimed as he got up off the bed and placed his book gently on the bedside table. "I will listen to one piece once, but then I'm leaving. The practice rooms make me claustrophobic." He frowned as Sirius beamed at him and ran to pick up his cello.

"You hear that Mr Darcy?" he cooed to the instrument "Remus wants to listen to us make our beautiful music together." Sirius turned to the other boy and laughed at his expression of horror.

"Not anymore I don't" Remus declared, but followed the other boy downstairs anyway.

"Now, you're not allowed to laugh, ok?" Sirius told Remus as he set up the spike on his cello to the right height and sat down on the chair, bow at the ready.

"Why would I laugh?" Remus sighed, wanting nothing more than to get this over and done with. Being around Sirius with other people was distracting enough. Being alone with Sirius in a small confined space was off-putting in the extreme. Remus tried not to dwell on the reason for this.

"I… well, you see." Sirius started hesitantly. "When I play seriously…well, let's just say part of the reason I don't play seriously in class is because when I get into the music I _really _get into the music. And I tend to forget where I am, and I relax, and…never mind. You'll see in a minute. But you're not allowed to laugh!" Sirius babbled.

Remus was entirely too curious to let the issue slide "What on earth are you talking about Sirius?"

"Look, when I play…I sometimes, well… Jamsaysimksxfaswhenplathcello." Sirius said in a rush.

"I'm sorry?" Remus said.

"James says I make sex faces when I play the cello." He repeated, his cheeks colouring slightly.

"You…make…_sex faces_?" Remus spluttered, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed the laugh Sirius had forbidden him.

"Shut up." Sirius growled "You weren't supposed to laugh! And it's not like he knows what my face looks like when I'm having sex. He should be so lucky" Sirius leered.

"I like to think it is more an expression of extreme concentration and devotion to the spirit of the music." he continued, tightening his bow.

Sirius took a deep breath, strangely nervous, and brought his bow up for the first note. His worry began to disperse as he concentrated on the music. He was playing one of his favourite pieces, he knew it well, he had played it for years, and above all he enjoyed it. Sirius began to play.  
>His' left hand flew across the strings, the bow in his right swished rapidly back and forth, drawing out perfect notes which seemed to float around Remus' and him.<br>As Sirius played he was strangely aware of the other boy. Usually Sirius lost himself in the song, the outside world retreating until its conclusion. However he could sense Remus' presence so strongly it felt as if the cello was weaving a link between himself and the other boy; however instead of hindering his performance, it only seemed to make it better.

Sirius finished the piece and looked up at Remus apprehensively, even though he knew he had played it almost perfectly.

"So…what did you think?" he asked, not daring to look directly into Remus' amber eyes.

"That was- that was amazing." Remus stated simply, a definite look of admiration in his eyes. "I had no idea you could play like that."  
>Sirius sighed with relief. He hadn't wanted to admit to himself how much he valued Remus' opinion, but he had been really nervous playing for the boy.<p>

"Thanks. How about I return the favour and listen to you?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't need someone to listen to me." Remus replied, his answer rather curt.

"What do you play?" Sirius asked, unperturbed. Remus hesitated for a moment.

"Piano" he replied stiffly.

"Of course!" Sirius actually smacked his hand against his forehead in realisation "T_hat's_ why you never took an instrument into the practice rooms. They all have a piano! How could I have been so stupid?" Sirius stood suddenly, making Remus jump slightly. He walked over to the other boy, his gray eyed gaze roaming over his entire body before resting on his face.

"Now that I think about it, you actually _look_ like a piano player." Sirius stated before he gave his characteristic smirk and asked "have I ever told you about my theory when it comes to musicians' instruments and their bedroom habits?"

"No" Remus replied "and I don't want to know."

"Aw, you're no fun." Sirius said, before stating "You don't practise much."

"You've noticed that have you." it wasn't really a question. "I-" Remus wavered slightly, as if about to say something important.  
>"I really don't like it down here." was all he said, before getting up and walking out the door.<p>

"See you later." he said softly, before closing the door behind him.

"At least I get a goodbye now." Sirius remarked to his cello.

* * *

><p>"Remus!" Sirius bellowed as he bounded into their room later that evening "you will never guess what I have found."<p>

"A life?" Remus replied "The capacity to act like someone above the age of seven?"

Sirius felt strangely happy to be insulted in such a friendly manner.  
>"Stop being sarky and come and see my lovely surprise for you." he grabbed Remus' hand and promptly dragged him out the room, too preoccupied on where he was going to notice Remus' faint blush.<p>

Sirius led them through the castle to an unused wing of the third floor.

"Sirius" Remus tried "there's nothing here."

"Exactly" Sirius stated happily, walking to the end of the corridor where it intercepted another passageway. Turning left Sirius led them to the very end where a door stood shut and presumably, Remus thought, locked.

"Sirius, I don't think we're supposed to go in there."

"Nonsense. It's a castle; we're supposed to explore it." And with that Sirius let go of Remus' hand, which he had still been holding, to pull open the door and lead the other boy up a short flight of stairs to a dusty landing. Looking around Remus saw four doors set into the wall adjacent to the stairway.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"It used to be bedrooms for teachers, before they built the new staff wing." Sirius replied, walking along to the room farthest on the left and opening the door with a squeak. Remus poked his head inside and gaped at the sight that beheld him.

The room itself wasn't much to look at. It had clearly not been inhabited in a while, if the filmy layer of dust clinging to every available surface like a delicately embroidered table cloth was any indicator. The far wall held a magnificent bay window which overlooked the sprawling grounds of the castle. However the object which had caught Remus' attention was the one Sirius currently lounged against, a smug look of satisfaction and glee evident in his aristocratic features.

"Do you like it?" he enquired, painfully aware of how much Remus' answer meant to him.

"Oh God Sirius, it- it's _beautiful._" Remus walked over to the slightly dilapidated grand piano that stood in the centre of the room and ran a graceful hand along the side of it. Though clearly worse for wear due to its long neglected state, the black body of the piano still managed to elicit an air of graceful class. The paint was peeling slightly in places, and there was a massive scratch along the open lid, but Remus thought it was perfect and told Sirius so.

"It's absolutely perfect. How did you find it?"

"I got bored practising my pieces and decided to try and sneak into the teacher's wing. Instead I found myself here. To be honest I'm surprised this thing is still here. I would have thought whoever left it would have taken it with them, even if it isn't the best looking thing."

"Hey!" Remus protested, a feeling of protectiveness steeling over him. "No knocking my piano."

Sirius laughed. "I hoped you would like it. Apart from the grands in the hall and the performance classroom the rest of the piano's are all uprights. It has a surprisingly good sound. Who knows how long it's been up here." He asked apprehensively "Why don't you give it a go?"

Remus walked over to the instrument and sat down on a spindly piano stool. He hesitated, hands hovering over the keys as an internal battle raged. Remus had promised himself he would never play again. Nothing good had ever come of it, and it had been a long time since he had got any enjoyment out of performing. However there was still a small part of him that wanted to play. Deep down Remus still loved the piano, as much as he willed himself to feel otherwise. And the enjoyment of playing for another person who actually wanted to hear him was enticing.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Nothing." Remus replied. He thought he had seen a flash of hurt in Sirius' eyes when he didn't play the piano the boy had found for him. Remus didn't want to make Sirius upset.

He began to play. His fingers were slightly duller from his long absence from playing, his movements slower and less fluid. But as he played, all the feelings the piano elicited in him were re-awakened. He picked an old favourite of his, technically difficult and emotionally heart-wrenching. For some reason it seemed the most fitting thing to play, and Remus was so familiar with it he had little problem. The music seemed to just flow out of him, as if his break from playing had created a deep well of music, just looking for an outlet.

The piece ended and Remus looked up to find Sirius staring at him in wonder.

"You-" he started then, seeming to fail at producing words, he raised his hands in a universal gesture for "I don't know what to say."

"Was it bad?" Remus asked, worried.

"No" Sirius laughed "I've never heard anything like it. You seriously _feel_ the music, don't you?"

"Yeah." he agreed softly. "I forget sometimes how much I love playing." Here he looked up from the scratched floorboard he'd been staring at into Sirius' eyes and smiled. It was a smile Sirius had never seen on his face before and, so familiar was he with the small, almost apologetic smiles Remus usually gave, he was startled.

"Thank you." Remus stated simply, still looking directly at Sirius, who gave an answering smile in return. He could have sworn he saw something flicker across Remus' eyes, some emotion or comprehension, and Sirius wanted to know what it was.

Remus' face suddenly took on a look of realisation, which quickly turned to shock.

"Oh God, I don't believe it." He whispered inaudibly. "Um, I have to go Sirius. I'll see you in class." Sirius watched in astonishment as Remus hesitated, then bolted out the door. Sirius stood in the now empty room for a while. Time passed, he wasn't sure how much. The whole time he thought over the events of that day, trying to work out what he did wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2 - When I imagined Sirius and Remus playing for each other Sirius was playing Bach's cello suite No. 1 and Remus was playing Yin no piano from Darker than Black. They're both pieces I absolutely love, I can play the second one, and they fit the situation in my mind. **

**On a completely different note I've noticed that I jump perspectives far too much. The story began being completely from Sirius' perspective, then I start doing alternate chapters, but now it seems to jump from Remus to Sirius within one paragraph. I apologise if this has been bothering anyone. I also apologise if no-one noticed and it is bothering them now. **


	9. Augmentation

**A/N – I'm debating whether to change the rating to M, as the story is getting a little darker and there is the possibility of me writing some more, _ahem, _passionate moments between the two boys. I'm not entirely sure what warrants an M rating though, or if people would prefer their relationship to stay less explicit. Please give me your opinions in a review (your opinions on the story as a whole will also be greatly appreciated).  
>This chapter was quite difficult to write. In it we finally find out about Remus' past and why he refused to play the piano. It was this in particular which I struggled to explain, but I hope I've done it justice and people enjoy reading it. <strong>

**VIII**

_**Augmentation** – An increase in the length of notes. The music will sound slower when imitated or repeated  
><em>

"Sirius. Wake up Sirius." a low, whispered voice penetrated Sirius' subconscious, pulling him insistently from the hold of sleep. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey." Remus said softly. He was leaning over Sirius, one knee on the bed and his hands either side of Sirius' body, supporting his weight.

"Hey." Sirius murmured blearily, still half asleep and more than a little confused. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn't get back to sleep." Remus stated, shifting his other leg onto the bed along with the first. "Nightmare."

"Oh." Sirius replied stupidly, his dull brain not quite catching up with the bewildering situation.

"I was rather hoping you could help me forget it." Remus purred, before leaning down and capturing Sirius' mouth with his own, moving his body so it lay flush against Sirius'.

Sirius sat up swiftly, gasping for breath and searching wildly around him for the boy who had just been in his bed. He sighed and let his head fall back on the pillow with a soft thump.  
>It had been a dream. In his dream Remus was kissing him. In his dream Sirius had liked it. He groaned as he saw the faint grey light through the curtains that suggested dawn was at least an hour away. He would not be getting back to sleep now.<br>Sirius turned over so he was facing the sleeping boy in the bed to his right. His amber eyes were shut, moving slightly under closed lids. He must have been dreaming. Sirius wondered if it was anything like his nightmare.

* * *

><p>The thing about obsession, Sirius thought to himself, was that there were only two ways to get rid of it. You could either ignore the thing and hope that eventually it will go away, or act on it and let it all out at once, thereby getting over it quickly. When it came to Remus Lupin, Sirius favoured the latter.<p>

But that had been a problem recently. After Remus' abrupt flight from Sirius two weeks ago they had barely spoken two words to each other, not that Sirius hadn't tried. Sirius felt confused and angry. He caught Remus looking at him sometimes. Only for a few seconds, and Remus would look straight away once he realised Sirius was aware of his observation. However these looks confused Sirius even more than the silence, especially the way Sirius almost felt as if Remus _wanted _something from him, though what it was he couldn't have guessed. He only knew what he wanted from Remus, but as they weren't even talking to each other any more that seemed extremely unlikely.  
>And Sirius had made so much progress since their first meeting; he would even have gone so far as to say he and Remus were friends. But now it was as if they had gone back to the same way they were at the beginning.<p>

It wasn't until Sirius was walking along the path to the greenhouse, as he sometimes did when he wanted to be alone to think, that he had spotted Remus and had decided this was the best time to confront him.

"Can I ask what your problem is?" he rounded on Remus, who jumped about a foot in the air as he hadn't heard anyone coming, too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

"Did I do something wrong? Do you dislike me or something?" Sirius demanded angrily. "Cause I really can't tell. Sometimes I think we're friends, but then you always pull back or say something that makes me think you hate me."

"I don't hate you." Remus said quietly, not looking Sirius in the eye, but instead staring at the patterns made by the broken glass on the floor.

"Then what the hell is it Remus? Because I'm getting sick and tired of your mood swings."

"It's nothing to do with you." Remus lied; it was only a _little _to do with Sirius. "You haven't done anything wrong, it's my problem, I'm sorry."

Sirius regarded Remus with a searching expression. "What exactly _is_ your problem?" he asked. "Because I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the way you've been acting ever since you arrived here."

"It would take me too long to explain. There's a lot to tell, Sirius. It's really not worth it."

Sirius fixed Remus with a serious stare. "I want to know."

"I-

"Tell me."

Remus hesitated and was silent for a minute. Sirius gave him time, knowing that if he pushed, all Remus would do was pull away. Remus took a deep breath and started talking.

Remus had been four when he first touched a piano. He was out shopping one day with his mother when they passed a music shop. Whilst his mother was distracted by a window display, Remus had slipped his hand out of hers and pushed the heavy door of the shop open, racing inside and straight up to the piano he had seen through the window. Sylvia Lupin, upon suddenly finding her son had disappeared, had scanned the crowded pavement frantically, calling out Remus' name. It was at that point the owner of the music shop had come outside and asked Sylvia if it was her son currently playing the piano inside. A very confused Mrs. Lupin had followed the man into the shop to find her son, sitting up on the piano stool, hitting the keys with his chubby little hands and an expression of absolute delight on his face. To say that what he was playing was music would have been a slight exaggeration, however it was obvious from the way he used both his hands and the way they moved perfectly with each other, he was a natural.

His parents had been too poor to afford a piano, but the shop owner had taken a liking to four year old Remus, and allowed him to come and play the pianos in the back of the shop whenever he wanted. Within a year of self learning and gentle guidance from some shop employees who actually played the piano, Remus had become very good for a five year old without any formal instruction. But it wasn't just his technical accuracy that singled him out. It was his emotional connection with the instrument that was unusual, something that even mature, experienced pianists didn't always display. It was either something you had or you didn't, and it was clear that, even at five years of age, Remus Lupin had it.

It was that "it" which had attracted the attention of Fenrir Greyback, a world renowned pianist and teacher who was known for his interest in child prodigies. Greyback had suffered an injury some years previously which prevented him from playing the piano like he used to be able to, so now he only taught. Greyback had heard about the little boy who sometimes played in a piano shop, and had promised Remus' parents he could make him a star. Their money problems would be over, and what's more, Remus would get to do something he loved. And there was no doubt that Remus was meant to be a musician. The Lupins had seen the sense in what Greyback offered. He was known to have affiliations with a large corporate group, Sköll Music, and they knew that with his tutelage, Remus would have a profitable and secure future. Then of course there was Remus himself, who obviously adored playing the piano and this way could recive proper training.

At first it had all been like a dream to Remus. He took to the piano like flame to paper, improving rapidly now that he had a proper teacher. Remus was heralded as the next Mozart, a genius, a prodigy. He was doing what he loved, and didn't mind all the attention he got either.

That was until he reached the age of nine and Fenrir decided it would be best for him to be removed from school and the "distracting influence of his less advanced peers" to be home schooled. Being a young, sociable boy Remus was upset by this. He liked his friends. He didn't want to stop seeing them. However Fenrir had been insistent and so Remus spent the majority of his time at Fenrir's house practising. For a time he had been relatively happy. He got to play his beloved music, his parents were proud of him, and he could ignore Fenrir's ever growing, overshadowing influence with the ease of a child who had less important things to care about. That was until one selfish request had changed everything.

Remus had been playing in a concert one night, and had asked his parents to come and see it. He knew they were both working till late, and it was a lot to ask that they be let off early, especially to ask them to drive through the heavily snowed roads. But it was his first large concert, and he had wanted them there.  
>The car his parents were in had gone off the side of the road, hitting the crash bar and plummeting into the ravine below. He was told his parents would have died instantaneously.<br>Remus was fourteen.

As he had no living family there was debate as to who he would go to. Just as it was decided he would have to go to an orphanage until he turned eighteen Greyback had applied for custody. After all he had known the boy for years, and it would be a terrible travesty to let Remus' talents go to waste. Fenrir was his teacher and benefactor, and had more than enough money to support a child. Remus had been grateful. That was until he had arrived at Fenrir's house.

It began slowly, little things you wouldn't have noticed unless you looked closely. Remus had had a weekend job, his family still weren't well off, despite the help they got. Fenrir persuaded Remus to quit; he would pay for anything he needed. Although he was homeschooled Remus had kept in touch with his old friends. Fenrir decided it would be best if Remus didn't see them anymore; he needed to concentrate on his piano. Remus had enjoyed spending time in the local library. Fenrir said it would be unnecessary for him to walk all that way when he himself had a marvellous library in the house, in fact perhaps it would be better if Remus didn't go out at all; it was very easy to get into an accident, the number of things that can happen to your hands or fingers is remarkable, and Remus wouldn't want to do himself an injury and not be able to play, would he?

By the time Remus realised what was happening it was already too late. He had given over complete control to Fenrir. He was entirely reliant on him for everything, and Fenrir seemed to want Remus to pay him back in full.  
>It had taken him a while to see past the beautifully spoken words, the promises, the deceptions, but finally Remus had begun to fight back.<br>He had refused to eat, but Fenrir just laughed, and eventually Remus had given in. He had ignored his schooling, but Fenrir didn't seem to care. Remus finally hit a nerve when he stopped practising. Then he stopped playing the piano entirely. Fenrir had been furious. He tried to force Remus to play. His methods were, unsavoury to say the least.

"You are _mine_." He had hissed into Remus' ear one day as he held him down against the piano. "_Mine_, do you understand? I have put too much fucking time and effort into you for you to quit. Be it by playing the performing monkey and earning lots of money for me or by whoring yourself out to the highest bidder, you will be paying me back for my kindness one way or the other. It's your choice."  
>One day, whilst in one of his violent rages, the neighbours had come to check everything was alright after hearing a commotion. Remus had answered the door, a bruise shadowing his face from the temple to his eye, and told them everything was fine. Fenrir had shouted at him for opening the door in his state and given him another black eye.<p>

Fortunately for Remus Fenrir had been called away on business by Sköll soon after, and had decided to send Remus to the academy in the hopes that they would succeed where his persuasion and violence had not.

"And so here I am." Remus finished, refusing to look Sirius in the eye. "The last thing he said to me was not to make any friends, to avoid talking to students and pupils as much as possible, to be outwardly unfriendly if I had to. He doesn't want anyone finding out about his protégés. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first he's used in this way."

"So you realised you were making friends with me – with us, and you panicked and tried to distance yourself?" Sirius asked calmly. Remus looked up and was relieved to find no disgust or pity in Sirius' eyes. He felt those emotions strongly enough for both of them.

"Yes." Remus agreed, ignoring the traitorous thought that reminded him he had already accepted being friends with the boys. It was something to do with Sirius alone which had caused his flight reflex.

"There were times when I said I didn't want to be a musician. I told him I just wanted to be like everyone else, to go to school and have friends. But he'd always tell me that it was what my parents had wanted. And did I want to disappoint them after all they had done for me?" Remus desperately tried to hold back the tears now streaming down his face.

"And it's all my fault they're dead! My fault, and the piano's fault, and Fenrir's fault and-"

"No it's not." Sirius stated firmly. Remus stared at the boy in front of him, his protests frozen on his lips by the smile on Sirius' face.

"None of it is your fault Remus. You were just a kid who wanted his parents to be there for him. And again with Fenrir, you had to rely on someone. It's just unfair that the only person you had used that reliance for his own benefit."

Remus was speechless. He had never thought about it that way, always blaming himself for being such a failure. But what Sirius said made sense.

The boys sat in silence for a while, each pondering the new information they had garnered through the past conversation.  
>Remus hadn't realised he was shivering until he felt Sirius' warm arms wrap around him.<p>

"I'm sorry." The black haired boy muttered into his shoulder.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" Remus asked, surprised. "I'm the one who's been an absolute dick to you guys."

"Yeah, but you had a reason to be." Sirius replied, a look of concern etched across his face. "I'm really glad you told me. I'll try and think of some way to help."

"Thanks, but I don't think you can."

"I'll try anyway." Sirius smiled. Remus felt something warm stir in his chest, and realised he was being stupid to be scared of whatever it was about Sirius that made him feel this way.  
>Reluctantly, Remus pulled back from the dark haired boy's warmth and suggested they go back up to the castle.<p>

"Dinner has probably started by now. We'll have to hurry if we don't want to miss it."

Sirius smiled and, grabbing Remus' hand dragged him towards the building with a dramatic cry of "Certainly! We must feed you up Remus, you're far too thin."


	10. Duet

**A/N – Sorry I've taken a while to update. The good news is that my dissertations are finished. The bad news is that all my exams start in May, so I might actually have to do work instead of writing fanfiction (which I convince myself is work as it's on a word document, and I'm writing, and I'm not _reading_ fanfiction).**

**Sorry this chapter is a bit short. I'm trying to make each chapter at least over 2,000 words now, but sometimes it's a bit difficult. However I think you will find the content of this chapter more than makes up for its length (at least I hope you will). **

**IX**

_**Duet – **A musical composition for two performers_

That first time Remus opened up to Sirius was the beginning of a transformation in Remus. Gone was the unfriendly boy from the start of the year. Remus now made easy conversation with James and Peter, could be found participating in lessons, and had actually played the piano in performance class, much to the astonishment and admiration of both teacher and students.  
>It also marked a distinct change in the relationship between Sirius and Remus. The tentative friendship they had struck up was now stronger, less unsteady. As Christmas approached and the year wore on, they often spent time alone together, just talking. Sirius would lie upside down with his legs against the wall at the head of his bed; Remus would sit facing him at the foot.<br>They talked about their pasts and their plans for the future, the school and their friends. They made jokes, conversed about nothing in particular, or told each other random facts about themselves.

"I have one white eyelash which is longer than all the others." Sirius said to Remus one day.

"I have to keep cutting it otherwise it grows so long it becomes really noticeable." Remus laughed, and saying "This I have to see" shifted to his knees and leaned over Sirius upturned face. Sirius caught his breath as Remus' amber eyes came level with his own. Though admittedly Remus was upside down, the effect was still startling. As if noticing the sudden change in mood from laughing and good-humoured to – something else, Remus' eyes widened and he began to pull away, only to be stopped suddenly.

"What are you doing Sirius?" Remus' gaze flicked to the hand now wrapped around his wrist then up to grey eyes, staring at him with an intensity that did strange things to his heart rate. Slowly, Sirius pulled his arm forward, forcing Remus to bend over him. Their eyes were now level, Remus poised above Sirius, Sirius refusing to relinquish his grasp on Remus' wrist.

"What are you doing Sirius?" Remus repeated, his now golden eyes searching Sirius' for answers.

"This" Sirius said, before pulling Remus slightly forward and a little bit down, and then Sirius' lips were on his and Remus didn't really care what Sirius was doing anymore as long as he didn't stop doing it.  
>Their lips moved slowly against each other's at first, tentatively entering into new territory. It was like nothing either of them had ever felt. Heat rushed from all the places their bodies touched, lighting their insides on fire until all they could feel was the other. Then Sirius flicked his tongue against Remus' bottom lip and, startled, he automatically opened his mouth, giving Sirius access. Sirius bit back a groan as their tongues travelled along each other, sucking the breath from Sirius' lungs and making his head spin. Remus, in a similarly dazed state suddenly broke the kiss and moved away. Sirius began to protest until he felt the bed dip and then Remus was straddling him, leaning down again to press his mouth softly against Sirius' own.<p>

"It was weird kissing you upside down." he breathed into Sirius' mouth and this time Sirius did groan, sliding his hands up to the other boy's hips. It felt as if Sirius had been stuck by lightning, as if he _was _lightning, every time Remus' tongue collided with his own. After a few minutes the two boys broke apart, panting and wide-eyed.

"Well" Sirius said conversationally "this is new." Remus chuckled slightly and got up off Sirius to sit on the edge of the bed.

"So," he said finally, after a minute of silence "at the risk of sounding like a complete and utter girl, I have to ask, where does this leave us?"

"I'm not sure." Sirius said, not wanting to ruin his new friendship with Remus by pushing for something else too quickly, even if he was pretty sure something else was exactly what he wanted.

"How about secret lovers in an illicit affair?" Sirius suggested to mask his musings. Remus smiled but didn't answer.

"We can't tell James of course." Sirius continued. "He gets awfully jealous."

"Sirius." Remus said simply. Sirius looked at the other boy and noticed he was shaking slightly. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car speeding straight towards him. Actually, make that a massive truck.

"I- I like you." Remus stuttered and Sirius was once again astonished to see the difference from the boy he had first met at the beginning of the year to the one sitting in front of him.

"I like you too." he replied seriously.

"But that's just it!" Remus exclaimed, jumping up off the bed and pacing in agitation. "We're two boys. Boys aren't meant to like each other!"

"I know." Sirius said softly. "But I do. And I think I'm finally ready to face that." Remus stopped pacing and looked at him sharply, a questioning look in his gaze. Sirius sighed and proceeded to explain to him the situation with his family, and the boy he had started to have too strong feelings for.

"But I've decided I don't care anymore." Sirius said stubbornly. "It's not like I listen to my family about anything else. They're a pretty fucked up bunch, so I'm disinclined to believe them when they think something is wrong, considering all the awful things they think are right."

Sirius walked over to where Remus stood and leant forward, intending to continue what they had stopped a minute ago before their stupid talking got in the way. Just as Remus' lips brushed his he heard the door crash open and James burst in, pulling his dirty cricket jumper over his head as he walked. Remus and Sirius immediately jumped apart, thanking the egotistical streak which made James feel the need to strip off his dirty cloths immediately after practice, regardless of who was in the room.

"Hey James." Sirius said casually, moving to leave a respectable distance in between Remus and himself. "How was practice?"

"Good." Came the muffled reply as James pulled off his t-shirt. "I asked Peter to get me some food from the kitchens. Just tell him to put it on my bed if he gets here while I'm still in the shower."

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look.

* * *

><p>"It's official!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically the next day as he threw open the door to the dorm room. "I, Sirius, Orion, Superman," Remus snorted tea out of his nose, Sirius shot him a glare, "Black, am officially…<em>old<em>!"

"How d'you figure that, Sirius?" Peter asked good-humouredly.

"Well, I was in detention with McGonagall, she was using me as a practical demonstration for first years," here Sirius turned a tortured face on James and whispered conspiratorially "you know how she can be, what she makes you do. The things that she made me do are more than any man should have to bear."  
>Peter looked slightly alarmed, noticing the serious expression with which James comforted his friend.<p>

"By which I'm assuming you mean she made you play what she requested on the cello for the class?" Remus enquired, and Peter calmed down as Sirius' face split into a grin.

"How ever did you guess Remus?" he asked, batting his eyelashes.

"Sirius, you were saying you're old." James said, trying to get the conversation back on topic.

"Right, old. Yes. So McGonagall asked me to give an example of double stopping" at Remus and Peter's confused expressions Sirius explained "it's when you play two strings at once, so you get two different notes. Anyway, I'm sure she was expecting me to play some amazing classical shit, so I played the Rugrats theme tune instead."

"Brilliant." James laughed

"But _none of them knew what it was_!" Sirius exclaimed. "They'd never heard of the Rugrats! It wasn't _that _long ago."

"They are five years younger than us." Peter reasoned.

"And then one of the little bastards had the nerve to _tell _me I was old."

"You always wanted to be older Sirius."

"I feel so ooooold!" Sirius wailed, ignoring James' comment.

"What do you guys think of this composing assignment?" Remus asked, holding up a piece of paper with a picture of a stag on it. Remus was deliberately changing the subject as he was becoming aware of the fact that, once Sirius began a rant, he could quite happily keep it up for hours.

"It's a stupid assignment" Sirius muttered

"You must find your inner animal" James intoned in a dreamy voice

"If we're supposed to find our inner animal, why were we given one to write a piece of music about instead of getting to choose it our self?" Peter asked, his face screwed up in concentration as he stared at the piece of paper with his animal on it.

"Because it doesn't really have anything to do with us. We're just supposed to compose something with the character of the animal we were given. Slughorn only said the inner animal thing to make us more emotionally connected to our subject." Remus replied.

"Then why did I get a _rat_?" Peter wailed. "And how am I even supposed to write a piece of music about a rodent?"

"Use sneaky instruments mate." Was James' suggestion.

"Like what?"

"Like the violin." Sirius said, laughing as he ducked a shoe thrown at him by James.

"What did you get, James?" Peter asked.

"A stag." He said superiorly.

"Hmm, bull headed, arrogant, has ridiculous head attire," Sirius considered, "sounds just like you James."

"What did you get Remus?" Peter asked, ignoring the two dark haired boys mock fighting on the floor behind him.

"A wolf." He replied, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure if we're supposed to write a piece for our own instrument, or others though."

"I think it's our own, because we're supposed to perform it." James said, picking himself up off the floor as gracefully as he could. Sirius was hugging onto his leg like a koala bear, determinedly refusing to let go.

"No luck there then Peter." Remus said in amusement. "I imagine writing a rat on a trombone is going to be a rather difficult feat."

"I got a dog, if anyone cares." Sirius sulked from his position on the floor, arms still wrapped round James' leg.

"Hey, we should do a duet Remus." he suggested, suddenly brightening.

"A duet?"

"Yeah, dogs and wolves are both canines, and cello and piano sound really good together."

"I suppose we could." Remus mused. "Slughorn never said we couldn't do a duet."

"I'm going to go ask Lily to do a duet with me." James announced immediately, kicking Sirius off his leg and striding determinedly out the door.

"I'm going to go and watch." Peter said with a smile. "I'm still not convinced that a Lily who actually likes him isn't just a figment of his imagination."

The two boys departed, leaving Remus and Sirius alone in the room. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, Remus on the bed and Sirius still on the floor. They hadn't been alone since James had stumbled in upon them the evening before, and both were still unsure of what they were and how they were supposed to act around each other.

"So yeah, would you like to do a duet then?" Sirius asked to break the increasingly heavy silence.

"I don't mind." Remus shrugged.

"Is that a yes I don't mind or a no?" Sirius got up and moved to stand beside Remus.

"Yes I don't mind." Remus smiled and calmly finished his tea. He set the cup on the bedside then got up and fidgeted over a pile of his books for a while. They fell into an uncomfortable silence again, neither looking at the other.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Sirius exclaimed finally and pulled Remus towards him, kissing him swiftly before pushing him away again. "There."

"That's it?" Remus enquired, an amused expression on his face. Sirius turned to look at him in confusion and felt a solid shape collide into his body, pushing him against the wall as a mouth found his own.

"Why Remus." he said a moment later as they broke for breath. "I never picked you as the forceful type." Remus grinned.

"I'll show you forceful." He said as he pulled Sirius closer again, laughing in to the other boy's mouth.

**A/N- The thing with the rugrats genuinely happened to me, except I was playing it on the piano. I felt that Sirius would have been similarly shocked and indignant, so I put it in there. **

**I'm afraid this is the last of my (semi)prewritten chapters, so things may be a bit slower as I try to work out where I want the plot to go. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review!**


	11. Harmony

**A/N – I apologise for the lateness of this update. All my previous chapters were at least a little pre-written, and I've had a major block where this story is concerned. It is beginning to clear, which is good as I really love this story and would like to finish. I promise I will never abandon it however. At the moment I'm estimating there will be around two more chapters. **

**Disclaimer – I own none of the characters only the situations I put them into. **

**X**

_**Harmony** – The sound of two or more notes made at the same time._

Christmas passed in a frenzy of snow fights, last minute homework and seasonal cheer. Both Remus as Sirius had planned to stay for the holidays, and James and Peter opted to remain behind with them for Christmas day, returning home only for New Year.

Sirius and Remus had still not revealed their relationship to the other two boys. It wasn't that Sirius didn't trust them, he was pretty sure that James knew about his preferences, though they had never talked about it. Sirius just wasn't sure if he wanted anyone knowing about Remus and him until they had worked out what was going on between them.

"I sort of assumed we were going out." Remus had admitted, flushing slightly, one day when Sirius had queried him on it.

"I guess." He had replied uncertainly. "But to be going out with someone I've always thought you actually had to go out somewhere with them."

"Not much chance of that round here." Remus said dryly.

Sirius had contemplated Remus' words for the next few days, before the solution hit him as hard as the hand he smacked against his head when he realised how stupid he had been.

"I know _exactly_ where we can go." He told Remus a few days after Christmas.

"Where?" Remus had enquired.

"It's a secret." Sirius grinned. "I was thinking we could go on New Year's Eve? James and Pete won't be here, so it's the perfect time." Intrigued, Remus had agreed, Sirius still refusing to tell him the location he had in mind.

As planned, on the night of the 31st Sirius led Remus out of the castle towards the back of the greenhouses. Jumping over the fence surrounding the castle ground, Sirius turned to face the other boy, peering up at him with wild eyes.

"Hurry up Remus," he hissed "we'll be seen if you take that long to get over the bloody thing."

"Embarrassed to be seen with me now are we?" Remus jested as he climbed down the fence to stand next to Sirius.

"Never embarrassed." Sirius replied, catching Remus' hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

"Just embarrassing." Remus muttered, his cheeks burning.

"Come on, we have a bit of a way to walk."

Sirius led them down through the woods surrounding the castle, seeming to know where he was going though Remus was completely lost.

"Is this the part where you kill me?" he joked as Sirius walked past a tree Remus could have sworn he'd seen twice before.

"I have much better uses for you and none of them appeal to me if you're dead."

"Oh really?" Remus enquired, elevating an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"How about I show you?" Sirius whispered, backing Remus up against the cool trunk of a large pine tree.

"I might have let you if you hadn't said that cheesy line." Remus laughed, leaning back against the tree as Sirius followed him, pressing demanding lips against Remus' mouth which he quickly parted to allow Sirius entrance.

Sirius felt hands glide up to his shoulders and then suddenly Remus had swapped their positions, pushing Sirius up against the trunk and it was Sirius' mouth being invaded by Remus' tongue, not that he particularly minded.

"We'd better go." Sirius panted minutes later. "I still have lots of things to show you." Remus agreed and they continued their journey until they reached the edge of a small cliff. Leading them down the sloped side, Sirius walked over to a large natural alcove set into the rock at the base and walked into the darkened passage. Remus followed and stood next to Sirius wandering what he could possibly have to show him there.

"Here she is." Sirius said proudly, drawing off the plastic sheet covering a large motorbike with a flourish. Remus gaped at the gleaming black vehicle.

"It's a motorbike."

"Yes it is." Sirius agreed.

"You have a motorbike in a cave in the middle of a forest."

"Yes I do." Sirius admitted.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are not like other people?" Remus asked, shooting Sirius a slightly worried look.

"Why yes." Sirius said, not looking the least upset about it. "You did in fact, last week I think."

"And I presume you expect me to get onto the monstrosity." Remus inquired, his tone making it absolutely certain that he would be doing no such thing.

"Oh come on Remus!" Sirius cajoled. "You'll enjoy it once we get going, I promise. If not you can just yell at me to stop and we'll stop."

"You don't even have helmets!" Remus protested.

"They give me helmet hair, and I do not look good with helmet hair. You would not like me with helmet hair."

The two boys pushed the bike to the main road just out of the forest, by which time Sirius had convinced Remus to give the bike a go. Needless to say Sirius did not listen and did not stop when Remus yelled at him, and by the time they reached their destination Sirius knew he would have to do something amazing to get Remus back in his good books. Luckily enough for Sirius the sight of where he was planning on taking them that night had Remus' angry words dying in his throat. It was New Year's Eve and the crowds were out en masse. People were dressed up in varying stages of finery and costume and, as the two young men followed the crowd in front of them, they could make out neon lights from the club everyone was walking towards.

As they approached the club, Sirius could hear the music and increased his pace, eager to show Remus the other side of music. They were stopped briefly at the door by a bouncer, but on recognising Sirius they were admitted without a problem. The outside of the club was plastered with "Happy New Year 1978" banners. As the door opened and the sound rushed over Sirius he felt his face split into a vibrant smile. Looking to his right he saw Remus watching him, an almost savage grin spread over his face, as he took in everything around him.

"This," Sirius said proudly "is proper music. Rock, pop, soul, anything you can dance to they have it."

"I like it." Remus said, his heart rate speeding up as the heavy beat of the music resonated in his chest.

"I'm assuming you've never been somewhere like this before."

"I haven't been anywhere in the past few years." Remus laughed. "And this is certainly not the kind of place I would have gone to had I been allowed out." Sirius squeezed his hand encouragingly and Remus down the stairs into the twisting crowd below. The young men made their way to the bar easily procuring drinks as Sirius was eighteen and Remus looked it. They talked for a while but it was difficult to hear each other over the music. Finally Sirius got up and, offering Remus his hand, asked "Dance with me?"

"You want to dance with me?" Remus asked in surprise.

"Of course I do." Sirius smiled.

He led them across the dance floor towards the speakers where the bodies were thickest and the music was loudest. All around people were writhing in time to the music. They moved seamlessly along to the deep bass; jumping, swaying, grinding up against each other as they tried to feel the music deeper, to connect to the person dancing with them and the beat that pounded through their bodies.

Sirius pulled Remus towards him, relinquishing his hold only when their bodies stood flush against each other, and began moving in time to the music. Remus responded, slipping his arms around Sirius' neck and pressing their bodies closer.

Remus was wondering why no-one was giving them any problems when he looked over towards the darkened wall behind them and saw couples, most both male, half dancing half grinding up against each other. Snickering slightly he nodded his head towards the sight as Sirius asked him why he was laughing.

"It's quite funny." Remus explained. "Fenrir always has a lot to say about gay people. He told me that they are unnatural, that there aren't many in the world anyway, and those that are gay are so ashamed they usually hide it by getting married etc."

"I'm just laughing because the people in here certainly don't look ashamed to be gay. They seem to be enjoying it quite a lot actually."

Sirius gave a wry smile. "Yeah, they're pretty open to both gay and straight people here. I wonder if that's why I liked it so much. Because even if I was pretending I wasn't, coming here allowed me to see that gay men can be accepted."

"I think Fenrir's gay." Remus said suddenly.

"Why is that?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"I'd catch him watching me sometimes, and other men if they were at the house. Never the women. But he always had a strange expression on his face. Like he was disgusted by something, which is why I never thought he liked them."

"But you said he hates gay people."

"Exactly. Methinks the bastard doth protest too much." Remus grinned. Sirius laughed and started to say something in return when he heard the first bars of one of his favourite songs blast through the speakers.

"Shush!" he exclaimed suddenly. "No talking. Nothing must break this perfection." Remus shot him an amused look but complied, happy to simply dance to the music.

Sirius could feel a force rushing through him, escalating as it went. He needed to keep dancing, to feel the music around him, to get closer to Remus. Pulling back slightly, Sirius captured Remus' gaze as the song picked up in speed, the rhythm becoming smoother yet increasingly frantic. Remus drew Sirius closer, one hand round his neck, the other splayed possessively over his hip. He could feel a rising desire in himself, and smiled as he felt and answering need in Sirius. The two moved in harmony with each other, dancing in a way neither had been aware they could. Remus skimmed his other hand down Sirius' back to join the first and pulled their hips sharply together, a look of satisfaction colouring his face at Sirius' sharp intake of breath. Remus slid his lips down the column of Sirius' throat to rest against his pulse point, nipping it lightly then laughing as Sirius slapped his arse with a whispered command of "Behave."

Suddenly they were spinning, bodies on the dance floor whirling round them as each person felt the music calling to them. Sirius was panting, he could feel Remus' similarly laboured breathing on his neck, smell the sweat and alcohol and something that was entirely Remus radiating from the other boy. Remus was a barrage on his senses, each little thing acting like a siren's call to Sirius' over sensitized nerve endings. The crowd moved together in synchronised chaos, a single mass of writhing bodies. Remus felt Sirius backing him off the dance floor and had only seconds to contemplate the thought that maybe teasing the dark haired man hadn't been the best idea before he felt his back hit the wall and Sirius' mouth came down over his, ceasing all brain activity unnecessary for kissing. It was haste and heat and roaming hands all wrapped up in the continuous beat of the music, thumping in tandem with their racing hearts.

Through their lust frenzied haze the two young men were aware of the throng behind them shouting as one.

"TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN…"

"I think it's almost midnight." Sirius murmured unnecessarily against Remus' lips.

"SIX, FIVE, FOUR…"

"That much is obvious." Remus agreed, slanting his mouth over Sirius' again.

"THREE, TWO, ONE…HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Remus broke away laughing as he looked up at the shower of glittering confetti, tumbling down from huge nets suspended above the crowd. Sirius saw them fall through the reflection in Remus' eyes, preferring to watch the awed look on Remus' face than the spectacle behind him.

"Happy New Year, Sirius." Remus smiled. Sirius didn't reply, just kissed him again.

* * *

><p>"I think we should tell James. He's coming back today." Sirius stated the next day.<p>

"Go away." Remus muttered, burying his head under his pillow.

"I've been thinking it over" Sirius continued, completely ignoring Remus' order "and it makes more sense. I don't think James will react badly to it…"

"Urgh, too bright…shut the cutains…mph."

"he can tell Peter…"

"Stop talking so loudly…head hurts."  
>"and then we wont have to hide it all the time."<p>

"Fuck off Sirius!" Remus snarled, sitting up so he was face to face with the other boy, who simply leant forward and pecked him on the mouth.

"If this is you after a hangover darling I don't think I'll be taking you out drinking anymore."

"This isn't me after a hangover." Remus stated, falling back onto the bed again. "This is me with less than…" he looked at the clock "six hours sleep. It's nine o'clock Sirius. Why are you awake?"

"This is just you sleep deprived?" Sirius asked, looking down at Remus in horror. "What are you like with a hangover?"

"I don't get hangovers." Remus declared.

"O thank God." Remus threw a pillow at Sirius' head then turned to face the opposite side of the bed.

"Don't sulk." Sirius smirked. "I actually find it kind of cute. It's endearing."

"Did you just call me cute?" Remus asked, outraged.

"Yep," Sirius grinned. "You're cute when you're mad too."

"I cannot believe you just called me cute. Twice!"

"Don't argue with your nature. Just embrace the fact that underneath your taciturn, unpleasant, vicious exterior is a soft cuddly person just waiting to be released."

Remus could do nothing but stare at Sirius in shock, uncertain as to whether he was being insulted or complimented, but suspecting the former.

"You're sort of like a sheep in wolf's clothing." Sirius continued, suddenly struck by the aptness of the description.

"I'll show you a sheep in wolf's clothing." Remus threatened, springing out from under the covers to tackle Sirius and pushing him off the bed and onto the floor with a crushed "Umph!" as Remus landed on top of him.

"Well this is rather uncomfortable." Sirius stated.

"I'm not moving until you retract your previous statement." Remus declared.

"Which one?" Sirius gasped.

"Any that insulted my masculinity."

Sirius smirked up at the other boy. "Now come on Remus, out of the two of us I think it's kind of obvious which is the more masculine."

"Are you insinuating that it's you?" Remus laughed.

"Of course I am." Sirius said. "I mean, I'm broader for one thing. And I'm taller than you."

"Excuse me! You are not taller, we're the same height. And you have long hair, how is that not girly?"

"Hey! Leave my hair out of this. My hair is gorgeous."

"Ok, I think that last comment just proved how much more alpha I am than you."

"I'll prove how much more alpha I am than you." Sirius said, grabbing the back of Remus' head and pulling him down for a fierce kiss whist trying to flip their position. Suddenly the door crashed open and James burst in, slamming it behind him blindly as he caught sight of the two boys lying on the floor who immediately broke apart.

"Well, at least we don't have to explain to James anymore." Sirius said, grinning at the shocked expression on his friend's face and the embarrassed one on Remus'.

"Sirius!" Remus hissed, getting up off the other boy as fast as humanly possible and nudging Sirius in the side when he didn't follow suit.

"No Sirius, I think I'd still like you to explain." James drawled.

"Well, you see Jamesie my boy, whilst trying to befriend young Remus here he took my attentions in the wrong light and jumped me. I put up a good fight, but in the end even I could not win against his passions."

"Sirius!" Remus hissed again, this time kicking him in the side. "Tell him the truth or I will tell him what you persuaded me to do on his bed last night."

"Oh my God Sirius, tell me you didn't. That is not cool man!"

"We didn't do anything on your bed." Sirius reassured him, shooting Remus a dirty look. "Remus just wants to get me in trouble…it was Peter's bed we did stuff on."

"Aaagh! I don't want to know!" James screamed.

"Ok, I'll just explain though Jame-"

"La la la! I'm not listening. I can't hear my best friend talking about his unexpected gay relationship with our up till recently chronically antisocial roommate." James shouted, sticking his fingers in his ears and dancing out of Sirius' reach as he tried to remove them.

"Oh for God's sake." Remus exclaimed as he walked over to James, grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to sit down on the nearest bed.

"Right." He said, grabbing Sirius and doing the same thing. "Both of you will stop being so immature, you will talk about this seriously and I will come back in fifteen minutes to find you two have got over this, and by getting over this I do not mean beating the shit out of each other or releasing James' latent homosexual feelings, Sirius."

"My _what?" _James spluttered. Remus winked at him and left the room to go and find Lily. He had become a lot closer to her recently and he knew she would not be pleased if she had to find about his and Sirius' relationship from her boyfriend.

The two boys left in the room stared awkwardly at each other, neither sure of what to say.

"I'm ok with it." James said finally.

"Really?" Sirius asked in surprise. "You're not going to throw a hissy fit?"

"I'll have a short one when you leave the room, but I'll get over it."

"Or judge me because I'm different?"

"You were already different. And I judge you anyway."

"Or refuse to sleep in the room of not just one, but two raging homos?"

"No. I'm actually glad there are two of you. I know you would have found it difficult to resist my rakish charms if you didn't have someone else to distract your attentions." James grinned. Sirius stared at him for a second, before launching his body at James with a cry of "Darling, your rakish charms are simply too overwhelming. I must have you now!"

"But honestly," James said a minute later, after he had detached Sirius from his leg, as they sat with their backs against the bed "it doesn't bother me. You could fancy doors but you'd still be my friend." Sirius sniggered at the idea of him being attracted to doors.

"I'm serious." James said, catching Sirius' eye.

"Thanks James. It means a lot." Sirius said, maintaining eye contact. "But you're wrong. _I'm _Sirius."

"Ouch!" Sirius said as James slapped him upside the head.

* * *

><p>"Remus!" Lily called as she caught sight of him leaving the boys' room. "I was looking for you."<p>

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, taking in her flushed cheeks and erratic breathing.

"Slughorn just tipped me off that a singing scout might make an appearance at the Academy today and I haven't practised all holiday. I came back early for that reason."

"Do you want me to listen to you?" Remus asked in confusion, not really sure how else he could help.

"Could you accompany me?" Lily asked, her eyes pleading.

"Why not get one of the actual accompanists?" Remus enquired.

"Because most of them are still on holiday, and those who I know are here aren't very good at sight-reading, which I know you're brilliant at, and I -"

"Ok, ok." Remus said, cutting lily off mid-babble. "I would be happy to accompany you."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lily squealed, throwing her arms around Remus' neck.

"I'm only accompanying you." Remus said, bemused at her enthusiasm.

"I'm really nervous about this." Lily explained. "If I'm good enough this could be my chance. And I always do better with someone I know playing with me."

"I can play with you for the scout if you want?" Remus offered. Lily hugged him again. Remus detached himself suggesting they leave then, if Lily had her music with her.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked when, instead of turning left to go downstairs towards the practice rooms, Remus started walking in the opposite direction.

"I have somewhere better than the practice rooms." Remus smiled. "I'm not particularly fond of spending long periods of time down there. It makes me feel…trapped."

Remus led them to what he now thought of as his room, and opened the door for Lily to step inside first. Remus had, with Sirius' James and Peter's help, straightened the place out a bit. They'd dusted, aired and cleaned the bulk of the room, chucked out the old moth-eaten carpet which covered the majority of the floor to reveal the old wooden floorboards beneath. The final touch had been to clean the little square panes in the bay window. It was surprising how much lighter the room looked from that simple adjustment.

"Oh Remus, this is amazing." Lily breathed, enraptured. "How ever did you find it?"

"I didn't." Remus told her. "Sirius did."

"Hmm, I'm not surprised Sirius was sneaking around places he shouldn't be." Lily sniffed dismissively.

"He's not that bad." Remus said, a small smile gracing his face. Lily caught the smile and gave him a horrified look.

"Oh Remus, please tell me you don't." she whispered.

Remus shot her a bemused look. "Tell you I don't what?"

"You're totally in love with Sirius, aren't you?"

"I'm what?" Remus spluttered, taken aback by the abruptness of the question.

"I can tell." Lily insisted. Damn women and their powers of observation. "But, oh Remus, he's the worst person you could have picked. Have you not seen how he is with women?"

"Lily." Remus said, confused as to what she was saying but glad she had brought the topic up as he wad been deliberating how to tell her. "Sirius likes men. Well, he likes women too, but he likes men more." Lily gaped at him, her eyes as wide as her mouth, which was hanging open in a rather unattractive depiction of a fish.

"Is it really that hard to believe?" Remus asked her in amusement.

"But…but, he - all the women!"

"Overcompensation if ever I saw it." Remus smirked.

Pulling herself together Lily fixed Remus with one of her patented glares and asked "Have you told him you love him?"

"Um, no." Remus said.

"Why?" Lily demanded.

"Because I'm not sure if I do?" Remus hedged.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course you do. And if he likes guys you might be in with a chance."

"We're going out, Lily." Lily performed her fish impression again.

"I don't believe it! How could you have withheld this information Remus Lupin?" she shrieked, slapping him on the arm. "And of all the people out there why did you pick him?"

"Hey!" Remus said, offended on Sirius' behalf. "There's nothing wrong with Sirius."

"So why haven't you told him you love him?" Lily asked, ignoring Remus' previous comment.

"Look Lily, we've not been together than long and things are…complicated. It's difficult to explain." Both of them stood in silence for a moment before Lily smiled and grabbed Remus' hand, dragging him to the piano.

"Ok, I'll let it go -for now anyway- let's practise."

But whilst Remus was playing Lily's words revolved around his mind. Thinking back to the amazing night before he wondered if she maybe had a point.

* * *

><p><strong>AN – I hope you enjoyed the chapter and it was worth the wait. Please review, even if it's to constructively criticize. I've missed hearing what people think.**

**I've started to put news about my stories on my profile, which I will try to update regularly, just in case anyone wants to know what's going on with them. That way I'm not cluttering up my fics with information about other things I'm writing. **


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